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NASFAA is pleased to announce we have selected 50 members from all different institutional areas to serve on the newly formed Higher Education Committee of 50—or Forward50. This national committee, comprised of forward-thinking higher education leaders, will spend the next year examining policy areas related to access, affordability, accountability and transparency. We will continue to share updates and solicit feedback from our membership as this group works toward its goal of producing practical solutions and recommendations for members of Congress. Head to the Forward50 website to learn more about the committee and its members.

Late Friday night the Senate failed to pass a continuing resolution (CR) that would have funded the federal government through February 16, setting off a federal government shutdown. While it is unclear how long the shutdown will last, federal student aid programs should largely avoid major consequences from a short-term shutdown. The Department of Education's fiscal year 2018  Contingency Plan specifically addresses the Federal Student Aid programs. The Senate is expected to vote again today on new proposal to temporarily fund the government. Stay tuned to Today's News this week for the latest updates.

To support state-subsidized initiatives such as 'Promise' programs, in which institutions offset students' costs most often after financial aid is applied, Congress must continue to tie funding for the Pell Grant program to inflation, according to a new report by the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP).

Learn the answer to this question and learn how to instantly find credible and reliable solutions to your most pressing regulatory and compliance questions with NASFAA's AskRegs Knowledgebase. The Knowledgebase guide and video tutorials highlight the many features of this tool.

NASFAA's Advocacy Pipeline is an ongoing advocacy effort designed to bring NASFAA members to D.C. to share on-the-ground perspectives with policymakers on Capitol Hill. Throughout the year, small groups of NASFAA members come to Washington to participate in direct advocacy with congressional offices. If you are interested in participating, please complete this form. For more information about NASFAA's congressional outreach efforts, check out the NASFAA Advocacy page.

In the event of a closure of the federal government (more commonly referred to as a shutdown or furlough), there will be minimal impact on students, borrowers, schools, lenders, and guaranty agencies and their ability to participate in the Title IV Programs. While our federal offices, including those located in the regional cities, would be closed during a federal government closure, the majority of our Title IV processors, contact centers, and websites will remain operational. In this announcement, we provide operational guidance about Federal Student Aid's communications, customer service contact centers, scheduled system outages, processing systems, and training events should a federal government shutdown occur.

The Department of Education is announcing the release of the 2018 Gainful Employment (GE) Disclosure Template. Institutions will have until April 6, 2018 to update disclosures for each of their Gainful Employment (GE) programs, using the 2018 GE Disclosure Template. 

As tax time approaches, the Department of Education wants to share general information with the financial aid community about itsreporting of student loan interest payments. If a borrower made federal student loan payments in 2017, the borrower may be eligible to deduct a portion of the interest paid on the borrower’s 2017 federal tax return.

The COD Processing Update provides information related to COD System processing and includes the following sections: COD News and Updates, Current Issues (with a subsection for All Programs, Direct Loans, and Grants), and Reminders.

"Congress failed to reach a last-minute agreement Friday night to avoid a government shutdown. That won't mean immediate consequences for federal student aid recipients or institutional funding. But institutions and students depending on Education Department programs could see an impact if the shutdown drags on," Inside Higher Ed reports.

"Here in California’s heavily Latino agricultural heart, Adrian Lopez has worked on farms and in construction. Now he’s doing something few people like him from around here ever do: He’s going to college," The Atlantic reports. "Overshadowed by attention to the challenges faced by nonwhite high-school graduates in cities, low-income black, Hispanic, and Native American students in rural areas like this are equally unlikely to go on to college."

"The Juilliard School, New York’s magnet for aspiring artists, is bracing for a 1.4% tax on income from its $1 billion endowment. Three miles away, Columbia University and its $10 billion endowment will remain untouched for now. A college-endowment tax, enacted in December in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act signed by President Donald Trump, is causing confusion and frustration at schools across the country, which rely on the previously tax free-earnings when setting their budgets," according to The Wall Street Journal. 

"The state's top lawyer wants to help college students better understand their loans and require lenders to be more transparent. Bob Ferguson, Washington’s Attorney General, has — for a second time — introduced a bill that would establish a 'student loan advocate,' who would field complaints from loan borrowers, help them understand their loans and compile data on loans," according to The Daily Evergreen. 

"The University System of New Hampshire is expanding a program offering four years of free tuition to in-state students who qualify for federal Pell grants," New Hampshire Public Radio reports. 

"There's little doubt that the Higher Education Act, which affects more than $120 billion in annual federal spending, needs an update. Less clear is whether Republicans' proposed reforms will do more harm than good," the editorial board at Bloomberg writes in an opinion article. 

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