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On the heels of an abbreviated budget outline released in March that alluded to damaging cuts to the federal student aid programs, President Donald Trump on Tuesday released his expanded budget proposal for fiscal year (FY) 2018, which would affect award year 2018-19 and provides a full glimpse into the Trump administration’s funding priorities for the federal student aid programs. Overall, the Trump budget proposal would cut about $150 billion from federal student aid programs over 10 years.

Politicians, advocates, and other higher education stakeholders expressed mixed attitudes toward President Donald Trump's proposed budget for fiscal year 2018. While some called it an "all out assault" on students and said the cuts were "cruel and callous," others claimed the budget shows the "urgent need" for "bold solutions" and said it would "refocus" funding priorities on students.

On Thursday, May 25 at 10:00 am ET NASFAA President Justin Draeger will testify in a joint hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Subcommittee on Intergovernmental Affairs, on the topic of "Improper Payments in the Federal Government: Student Aid." Draeger will answer questions and share testimony concerning improper payments that occur when federal student financial aid goes to an ineligible individual, or when an eligible student receives an incorrect amount as an overpayment or underpayment. Other invited witnesses include Chief Operating Officer for the Department of Education's (ED) Federal Student Aid Jim Runcie and ED Inspector General Kathleen Tighe. Keep an eye on Today's News tomorrow for NASFAA's prepared testimony and on Friday for coverage from the hearing.

Student aid programs are again on the chopping block in new budget proposals. Join NASFAA at our kick-off event for the #Fight4FinAid campaign at 3:15 pm PST on Tuesday, June 27, at the 2017 NASFAA National Conference. Can't make it to the conference this year? Use our template to make your own rally sign to show your colleagues why you #Fight4FinAid. Join the movement online by posting your sign to Twitter or Facebook on Tuesday, June 27 using #Fight4FinAid.

We've got lots of fun in store and you won't want to miss it! Relax with old friends, network with members, or chat with exhibitors at Monday's Opening Reception and Tuesday's Un-Wine’d Hour in the Exhibit Hall. Buy a baseball ticket and join your colleagues for a night at the ballpark Tuesday evening. The First-time Attendees Lounge is a great place to meet other first-time conference-goers. Head to the 2017 NASFAA National Conference site for a glimpse at the sessions that will be offered, local restaurant and site-seeing suggestions, and much more. Online conference registration closes May 31; register today.

"By the time an online tool that helps students complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid was taken down in early March, the users who typically get the most public attention –– incoming freshmen going to selective four-year colleges –– were largely done applying for aid," The Chronicle of Higher Education reports. "So the Trump administration's plan to get the Internal Revenue Service's data-retrieval tool up and running again might seem timely enough." Current and future NASFAA board members are quoted in this article.

"The first time Nyreke Peters met the new college adviser at his rural high school, he was skeptical. Other adults at Hobbton High School spoke with the same Southern accent and shared an easygoing familiarity that came from having gone to the same schools and having spent their lives in the same county," The New York Times reports.

"Several states are taking a hard look at high-profile student financial aid programs as they debate their budget priorities, searching for savings and reconsidering how they spend money on scholarship and grant programs," Inside Higher Ed reports.

"Little known private colleges that are already struggling to grow their revenues are facing a new threat that could further weaken their finances and make borrowing harder: free tuition at public universities," Reuters reports.

"California's colleges and universities are celebrating what many describe as a happy surprise: the revival of federal financial aid for summer school. The move will help more low-income students graduate on time and help reduce college debt, its proponents say," EdSource reports. NASFAA's Megan McClean Coval is quoted in this article.

"It's one thing to claim to 'love the poorly educated,' as President Donald Trump once declared. It's another to re-engineer American society to become much more poorly educated. But that's exactly what the Trump administration's 2018 budget proposal attempts to do," according to the Center for American Progress.

"Is college worth it? That's a question that haunts not only many of the young adults considering their next educational step, but many policymakers, too. The value of a college education by number of years completed is, on average, high and rising. But those averages disguise a huge amount of variation, by institution type, degree major, and many other factors," according to the Brookings Institution.

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