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today’s news for Wednesday, February 21, 2018

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ELM Resources. From our family to yours, we send a warm Happy Holidays greeting your way! And, ELM's Season of Thanks continues this month with a celebration of our recent survey results. We are so honored and proud of the trust you place in us each day. Your needs are our focus. Contact us to learn more about how we can help you. Visit www.elmresources.com or contact us at [email protected].

NEWS FROM NASFAA

ED May Change Course on Student Loan Bankruptcy Discharges

The Department of Education (ED) on Wednesday published a request for comments on current practice for discharging student loans in bankruptcy. Currently, student loans are an exception in bankruptcy discharges, unless a borrower can show that the debt presents an "undue hardship." That standard is typically very difficult to reach, which is why many people have the misconception that student loans can never be discharged in bankruptcy. ED is requesting public comment on the factors to be considered in undue hardship claims, the weight to be given to those factors, and "whether the existence of two tests for evaluation of undue hardship claims results in inequities among borrowers seeking undue hardship discharge," among other things. The public comment period will be open for 90 days.

A student received a D+ in a course. The student would like to take it over to receive a higher grade in the class. Is the student still eligible to receive federal financial aid for repeating the course? Read on to see if you got the answer right.

NASFAA seeks to build a repository of member-submitted interview questions that members can use to get ideas about what questions to ask job candidates for financial aid office positions. NASFAA will compile and share this information in our member-generated content area. We will remove any identifying information about your institution before publishing the interview questions. Submissions will be made available in the Member-Generated Content Library soon. Please submit your sample questions by Wednesday, February 28.

Every year, NASFAA recognizes outstanding members and other higher education stakeholders for their achievements and contributions to financial aid, students, and/or NASFAA. Award winners will be announced in June at the 2018 NASFAA National Conference in Austin, TX. Nominations are due Feb. 23, 2018; submit your nominations online today.

#FinAidFeb

Financial Aid Awareness Month is coming to a close next week, but the effort to spread awareness about the value of student financial aid will continue beyond #FinAidFeb. Student aid programs continue to be threatened in federal budget proposals, and you as financial aid professionals can add a much-needed voice to the conversation. Be sure to check out NASFAA's advocacy resources detailing the importance of financial aid to share with students, families, and colleagues, and contact your representatives to share your views. The #Fight4FinAid won't end come March — and your support is needed more now than ever.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

On February 16, 2018, this announcement was updated to change the website used by schools to apply for Title III and Title V eligibility. The new URL is https://hepis.ed.gov/title3and5/. The Department provides the following information regarding the designation of Title III or Title V status for institutions and the resulting waiver of the non-Federal share requirements for the Federal Work-Study (FWS) and Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) programs.

This letter announces Federal Student Aid's instructor-led, online training session that will provide information on the upcoming transition of business processes for the Campus-Based programs to the COD System.

x - FEDERAL REGISTER

The Department of Education seeks to ensure that the congressional mandate to except student loans from bankruptcy discharge except in cases of undue hardship is appropriately implemented while also ensuring that borrowers for whom repayment of their student loans would be an undue hardship are not inadvertently discouraged from filing an adversary proceeding in their bankruptcy case.

x - HEADLINES

National News

"During the housing boom of the 2000s, jumbo mortgages with very large balances became a flashpoint for a brewing crisis. Now, researchers are zeroing in on a related crack but in the student debt market: very large student loans with balances exceeding $50,000," according to The Wall Street Journal.

"A new majority of college students are more independent than students in previous years, according to a report released [Tuesday]. The Institute For Women's Policy Research (IWPR) has released a new briefing paper that indicates that college students are now more likely than not to be financially independent from their parents. A majority of this emerging demographic of students tends to be women and students of color," Diverse: Issues in Higher Education reports.

"Their life has the makings of a classic American success story: immigrants who earned college scholarships and became A students. One has graduated and is in the work force; the other will receive her degree this May. They found each other and fell in love," according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. "But instead of celebrating, they're making plans to leave the country. Their legal status in the United States depends on two programs — Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, known as DACA, and Temporary Protected Status, or TPS — that face at best an unclear future in the Trump era."

Opinions

"No question, remedial education needs an overhaul. Millions of young adults get trapped in rudimentary math and English classes that don't earn them college credits but still cost the same tuition. More than two-thirds of all community college students and 40 percent of undergraduates in four-year colleges have to start with at least one developmental education class, in the euphemistic jargon of higher education. The majority of these students drop out without degrees," Jill Barshay writes for The Hechinger Report.

Blogs & Think Tanks

"A recent report from the US Department of Education's Office of Inspector General indicates that enrollment in income-driven repayment (IDR) plans, which allow borrowers to repay student loans based on how much they earn, has increased substantially over the past five years. $51.5 billion of the student loan debt from the 2014–15 cohort of borrowers is being repaid through an IDR plan, compared with $7.1 billion from the 2010–11 cohort of borrowers. As more borrowers enroll in IDR, it is important to understand the demographics of those who use this program," Kristin Blagg writes in a blog post for the Urban Institute.

x - INDUSTRY NEWS

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