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How do you Engage an Audience of ONE? Cegment’s Student Engagement Solutions are designed to help institutions convey their unique value and understand affordability with each communication tailored to the individual student’s circumstances. Learn more about how to increase engagement with students at every stage of the financial and enrollment process. Learn more.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) introduced the Higher Education Access and Success for Homeless and Foster Youth Act on November 10. This bill seeks to resolve a number of issues that continue to pose barriers to higher education for unaccompanied youths who are either homeless or self-supporting and at risk of homelessness. The bill would revise the definition of independent student status by removing the language that limits determinations of homelessness by designated officials to the year in which the FAFSA is submitted.

More than 1,300 students displaced by the closure of Corinthian Colleges - and those who felt they were victims of fraud regardless of whether or not their campus closed - were assisted by a partnership between NASFAA, the Western Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (WASFAA), the California Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (CASFAA), and Beyond 12.

The regulations finalize rules surrounding the direct disbursement of Title IV funds to students and to parent borrowers, introducing new terminology and new structures to relationships with third party servicers and financial institutions. Most of the new rules become effective July 1, 2016, but a few pieces of the new rule are delayed a few months to a year from that date. This is the fourth and final article in a series describing the provisions of the final rule.

More than half (51.1 percent) of those who responded to a recent Poll the Pros said they were "very familiar" with the concept of enrollment management, while only 1.7 percent indicated they had not heard of the concept when they chose "Enrollment management? What's that?" Just over 38 percent said they were "somewhat familiar" with enrollment management, followed by 9.1 percent who said they were "not very" familiar with it. If you have yet to chime in, take the poll and peruse past Poll the Pros questions and results. And if you want to learn more about enrollment management, check out the new track at NASFAA's 2016 Leadership & Legislative Conference & Expo.

Fifty years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Higher Education Act into law, and opened the door to higher education and greater social mobility. But since it was signed in 1965, the United States has fallen behind many other nations in terms of college attainment levels, and large gaps persist among socioeconomic groups. As Congress embarks on the next reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, experts have contributed research, reflections, and recommendations for what policy changes could improve the landmark legislation. In a column, guest editor Laura Perna gives an overview of the pieces found in a special edition of the Journal of Student Financial Aid, dedicated to the reauthorization process.

Do you have the ability to effectively motivate, monitor and provide feedback on your staff's performance? People management is one of the biggest challenges facing today's financial aid office director. Hiring, setting expectations, and training are also key tools a director needs to be successful. Join your colleagues for discussion and insight into shaping your biggest asset and largest expenditure. Attend the Leadership Conference and Expo to lean more.

In this season of giving, why not give the gift of a Standards of Excellence Review to your institution? NASFAA’s Standards of Excellence Review Program assists institutions with removing the risk of potential compliance issues, and provides recommendations for improvement. Our knowledgeable peer reviewers will take an in-depth look at your operations and provide a detailed report that clearly outlines items that need attention. Fill out this short form to receive information and a cost estimate for the gift that keeps on giving.

This letter announces the availability of a new OMB-approved Federal Perkins Loan Master Promissory Note and provides guidance on the implementation of the new note.

In response to concerns that some institutions have been using the list of colleges that a student includes on their FAFSA for purposes unrelated to the awarding of student financial assistance, beginning with the 2016-2017 FAFSA, the Department will only provide the Federal School code and corresponding housing code for the institution receiving the student's ISIR.

This meeting notice is an update to the previous notice published in the Federal Register (176 FR 54774) on September 11, 2015, and sets forth the time and location for the December 16, 17, and 18, 2015 NACIQI meeting.

"Students held demonstrations on university campuses across the United States on Thursday to protest ballooning student loan debt for higher education and rally for tuition-free public colleges," Reuters reports.

"Whether they are serving our country abroad or adjusting to life back home after tours of duty, many of our nation’s veterans and servicemembers are battling a more private foe: Student loan debt," MarketWatch reports.

"A newly-proposed bill would create a competitive grant program supporting business incubators operated by or affiliated with universities and colleges in an effort to encourage entrepreneurship and more innovation among students," eCampus News reports.

"Last month, the U.S. Department of Defense took the unprecedented step of putting the University of Phoenix on probation, forbidding it from enrolling service members as new students and banning it from recruiting on military bases," Matthew Boulay, executive director of the Veterans’ Student Loan Relief Fund and an Iraq War veteran, writes in an opinion piece for The Hill.

"Seventy years ago, Congress made a transformational step in preparing veterans to excel after military service by passing the GI Bill, which provided veterans unprecedented access to education beyond high school," Carlos A. Santana, a graduate student and leader of the Student Veterans Network at Hawaii Pacific University, writes in an opinion piece for The Hill.

"Seeking to counter complaints over rising numbers of students from other states and nations, UC President Janet Napolitano wants to expand enrollment of undergraduates from California by 10,000 by the 2018-19 school year, according to a proposal released Monday," The Los Angeles Times reports.

"A number of Senate Democrats want to require for-profit colleges to get a greater percent of their revenue from non-taxpayer dollars," The Hill's Floor Action reports.

"Fifty years ago this week, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Higher Education Act, ushering in an era of massive federal support for college students through a flurry of new programs: tuition grants, guaranteed student loans, and work-study funds. ... But today, Johnson’s vision of the Higher Education Act as a great equalizer in the American economy is at risk," according to The Washington Post's Grade Point.

"Money Magazine is out with a new poll today on college affordability. The survey — a joint effort by Money and Kaplan Test Prep — asked parents of high school-aged college aspirants whether they agreed or disagreed with particular proposals to improve college affordability," Andrew Kelly writes in the American Enterprise Institute's AEIdeas. 

"Lately, conservative Republicans seeking the presidency love to discuss which cabinet level departments they would abolish should they become President. Texas Senator Ted Cruz unveiled a plan to abolish four (the Departments of Education, Commerce, Energy, and Housing and Urban Development), plus the Internal Revenue Service and 25 other agencies with names that make conservatives angry (there’s one about salmon)," according to New America's EdCentral.

"It’s November and America’s high school seniors and college enrollment officers are busy with applications. While students are providing data and schools are reviewing it, families are asking one question of colleges: 'How can we afford you'?" according to the Brookings Institute's Brown Center Chalkboard.

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