NASFAA is active in the proactive policy arena, which allows for effective, productive engagement with the higher education community on key policy issues. Some recent initiatives and topics of focus include:
The FAFSA Simplification Act passed on Dec. 27, 2020 as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 and represents a significant overhaul of federal student aid, including the FAFSA® form, need analysis, and many policies and procedures for schools that participate in the Title IV programs. NASFAA is providing training, guidance, and resources for the financial aid community to stay up-to-date with the latest updates.
In an effort to improve the clarity and consistency of student financial aid offers, NASFAA — along with 10 higher education associations representing college presidents, financial aid offices, enrollment managers, and admissions counselors — launched the College Cost Transparency Initiative (CCT) with the goal of creating a set of principles and standards about what information should be included in institutional aid offers so the resulting documents are clear, meet high standards of transparency, and contain consumer friendly information, while still allowing for institutional customization.
As the 118th Congress begins, lawmakers have an opportunity to re-evaluate our country's higher education policies and take action to ensure an affordable college education is in reach for all students. Robust, streamlined student aid policy must play a central role in this effort. To that end, NASFAA offers the resources below to assist members of the 118th Congress as they work to pass reform that will strengthen access to, and success in, higher education for our nation's students.
As Congress begins serious consideration of reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965, as amended, legislation and related resources, including NASFAA comments and in-depth analysis, can be found on this page. This HEA Reauthorization page also offers HEA-related legislation from 2013-present and NASFAA’s HEA recommendations for Congress.
Financial aid professionals collect, manage, and have access to a vast amount of confidential student and parent data. NASFAA has compiled this web center of resources for the financial aid community.
Verification is the process used by institutions to check the accuracy of the information the student and, in the case of a dependent student, the student's parents, provided when applying for Title IV federal student aid via the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). While verification is an important step in maintaining the integrity of federal aid programs, it imposes significant burdens on students and aid administrators. NASFAA continues to advocate on behalf of its members and the students they aid, providing thoughtful and burden reducing proposals for changes to the verification process.
Negotiated Rulemaking (or "Neg Reg") is a process used by the U.S. Department of Education and other federal agencies, in which representatives from a government agency and affected interest groups negotiate the terms of a proposed administrative rule. The agency publishes the proposed rule in the Federal Register and then follows the usual rulemaking procedure of soliciting public comments, which are evaluated for inclusion in the final rule. NASFAA has historically participated in Neg Regs pertaining to federal student aid program regulations, by supporting and sending financial aid administrators from members institutions, NASFAA staff, and others to the negotiating table.
NASFAA regularly convenes task forces composed of geographically diverse groups of NASFAA member volunteers from all types of postsecondary institutions and sectors to help review legislative and policy proposals and voice NASFAA's position on pending legislation.