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The Department of Education (ED) published new rules on October 30, 2015, finalizing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) published on May 18, 2015. The general effective date of these final rules is July 1, 2016. This article describes a number of provisions covered in the final rule, except for certain major new cash management rules that will be described in a separate article in the coming days.

Despite the growth of higher education tax credits over the last couple of decades, a large portion of undergraduate students are unable to take advantage of such benefits and students who attend more expensive schools are able to claim a larger tax benefits than students at lower cost institutions like community colleges, according to a new report from New America.

With continued talk in Congress about simplifying the federal student loan portfolio into a “one grant, one loan” model, NASFAA is happy to announce that the One Grant, One Loan Task Force has commenced its examination into this financial aid reform concept. Chaired by Angela Johnson of Cuyahoga Community College and made up of seven aid administrators from across all sectors and regions, this task force looks to wrap up its work by summer 2016. Two members are serving on a NASFAA task force for the first time.

NASFAA has created a repository of member-submitted position descriptions for financial aid compliance officers. If you are hiring to fill this role, you may use these editable Word documents as templates to create your own position description or job ad. NASFAA provides a list of resources for use by compliance officers—or by other financial aid staff focused on ensuring compliance with federal regulation. And if you're currently looking for a compliance officer, don't forget to post the job on NASFAA's Career Center.

NASFAA's AskRegs Knowledgebase allows NASFAA members to search and browse for answers to financial aid regulatory and compliance questions submitted by NASFAA members. More than 30,000 searches are performed on the knowledgebase each month. But with more than 3,000 active Q&As, the numbers of search results can sometimes seem overwhelming. That's where the "advanced search" feature comes in. Learn how to refine your searches in AskRegs to find the information you're after.

The FSA Training Conference for Financial Aid Professionals will take place at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, NV from Tuesday, December 1st through Friday, December 4th.

The Perkins Discretionary Grant Performance Report form and instructions will be used by grantees to meet Department of Education deadline dates for submission of performance and financial reports for the Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education Division of Academic and Technical Education discretionary grant programs, as required by the Education Department General Administrative Regulations.

This rule allows the Department to incorporate into regulation and thus bring into effect the Uniform Guidance as required by OMB and reduces administrative burden and risk of waste, fraud, and abuse for the funds awarded by the Department through grants and cooperative agreements.

"New websites and greater access to education-related financial data are taking some of the mystery out of college shopping," The Wall Street Journal reports.

"Just [last] week some undocumented immigrant students in Massachusetts were made eligible for a prestigious state scholarship at four-year public schools. Immigration advocates welcome that development, but say much more needs to be done. Most undocumented students, including those who attend the state's community colleges, are still not eligible for financial aid," WGBH reports.

"On Mondays and Wednesdays, Allison Massey attends a freshman English class at Motlow State Community College’s campus near Lynchburg, Tenn. On alternating days, her 'learning support' instructor helps her prepare for that class by tackling run-on sentences and punctuation problems. A tutor, also employed by the college, reads the essays she writes for her freshman class and offers tips," The Chronicle of Higher Education reports.

"When Sylvan Gallawa, 24, was getting ready to graduate from college last year, he had the luxury of choosing among seven good job offers before eventually accepting one that paid six figures. Most of these job offers came in before he even walked across the stage to receive his diploma," according to The Hechinger Report.

"For Illinois' universities nearing the end of the fall semester without money from the state, it's a tale of the haves and have-nots," the Chicago Tribune reports.

"It has been clear for some time that the American college admissions system is fundamentally flawed. Between the Common App’s monopoly over the admissions process and U.S. News & World Report's rankings -- which give institutions points for selectivity and higher test scores -- it has been nearly impossible for individual colleges to change the way they recruit and admit students who are a good fit for their specific programs," Carol Barash writes in an opinion piece for Inside Higher Ed.

"In 1877, Rutherford B. Hayes became the first president to make a strong case for universally available public education," Sen. Bernie Sandiers (I-VT), writes in an opinion piece for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "Hayes, a Republican, didn't worry that some poor kid might benefit from access to 'free stuff.' Neither did he believe that the children of wealthy elites should be excluded from the universal nature of the program. For him, education was the basis for full economic and political participation — and full participation was the basis for all prosperity."

"For decades, despair and failure have dominated the national public conversation about public education. The strategy of mandating progress by the imposition of high stakes testing, first pioneered under President Bush and then enthusiastically pursued during the Obama administration, clearly has not worked to improve schools and academic standards," Leon Botstein writes in an opinion piece for The Hechinger Report.

"College is expensive, and getting more so every year.  Since most families don’t have tens of thousands of dollars lying around, the government has responded with ever-more-generous student loan programs," Megan McArdle writes for Bloomberg View.

"With higher education costs skyrocketing, Congress should be making it easier not harder to ensure students have access to an affordable college education. Yet, Senate Republicans, led by Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), have twice blocked the renewal of the longest standing federal financial aid program -- the Perkins Loan," Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) writes for The Huffington Post.

The Missouri Association of Student Financial Aid Personnel has published a new issue of its quarterly newsletter, the MASFAP Monitor.

VIEW NEXT ISSUE

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