By Hugh T. Ferguson, NASFAA Managing Editor

During the second day of the Federal Student Aid (FSA) training conference in Washington, D.C., leadership from the Department of Education (ED) provided attendees with more details on Workforce Pell Grants, additional updates on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), touted FAFSA success, and more.

Nicholas Kent, ED’s under secretary, kicked off the second day’s session, explaining that the conference was an important priority for the department. As soon as Kent joined the department, he began reviewing the conference planning.

“The draft plan that was given to me centered on moving away from an annual conference because of low satisfaction with the virtual conference platform, and relying on national trade associations to reach our customers, to do our work,” Kent noted. “I said, no way.”

Kent further committed to continuing with the annual training conference, which officials indicated will be an in-person event.

“Staff will soon begin planning the next FSA Training Conference, which will be held later this year. That's right. We are bringing back the conference in early December,” Kent said. “With many of the past formats that you've enjoyed and new features, that will help you better serve your students.”

The undersecretary then provided some details on his personal background as a first-generation student, and explained how higher education has changed his life.

“I distinctly remember going to the financial aid office in both Wesleyan and GW [George Washington University], after the sticker shock of what it would cost to complete my degree, and remembering how thankful I was that there were professionals who could help me navigate the process and make it possible for me to attend,” Kent said. “Financial aid professionals like you helped me understand my options, connect with resources, and ultimately stay on the path to graduation. Without that support, my path through college and through life might have looked very different.”

In terms of policy discussions, Kent highlighted OBBBA implementation and recognized that the law’s implementation raises questions, uncertainty, and even some anxiety for aid offices.

“This is a new law, and while we hope this training conference will answer many of your questions, there will be some that we need to take back and further explore,” Kent said. “Some answers are still being finalized, and others require us to research or understand the issues for the very first time. I personally ask for your patience and your grace, as we navigate implementing this together.”

Kent noted that OBBBA’s July 1 implementation date is “ambitious” but said the department is on track.

“The department team has worked tirelessly to ensure these deadlines are met, which, in turn, helps each of you as financial aid professionals plan effectively for the next academic year,” Kent said. “Over the next few months, the department will release the final rules to implement the act's provisions, complete the necessary updates to FSA systems, and engage state and institutional leaders through webinars, open houses, office hours, and listening sessions.”

In terms of policy changes in OBBBA, Kent highlighted a provision that allows institutions to limit the amount of federal loans a student can borrow depending on the program they are pursuing.

“The act also delivers for financial administrators who, I know, have asked for the ability to further limit the amount certain students can borrow from the federal government, especially to attend low earnings programs,” Kent said. “For the very first time, financial aid administrators will be empowered to truly focus on college affordability, and counsel students to make informed borrowing decisions that will set them up for success after graduation.”

When it comes to meeting deadlines, Kent also took time to criticize the previous administration's effort to implement FAFSA simplification and explained how a delayed rollout of the FAFSA impacted aid offices.

“Thousands of students lacked access to this critical form that acts as a pathway to life-changing grants and loans, all the while, millions of taxpayer funds were wasted. As Deputy Secretary of Education in Virginia, I personally saw this terrible impact firsthand and as Undersecretary, I make this commitment to each of you, that this will never happen under my watch,”  Kent said. “Despite critics' doubts, the Trump administration was able to launch the 26-27 FASFA form at the earliest time in the program's history.”

During Kent’s remarks, he also said that the first edition of the common manual for the Federal Direct Loan Program will launch on July 1. The common manual will be for servicing and collection practices and policies under the direct loan program and will create federal guidelines for vendor operations to ensure consistent borrower communications, customer service, and enforcement actions.

Pell Grant Updates

The conference then turned to a discussion on Pell Grant eligibility changes, including expanded Pell Grant eligibility for students enrolled in short-term workforce programs. The session came with the same caveats that, since regulations are still being developed and going through various stages of the rulemaking process, all guidance is based on preliminary text and subject to change.

At the start of the presentation, department officials stressed that the Workforce Pell Grant is not a new program and is instead an expansion of the current Pell Grant.

Department officials walked attendees through the outcomes of the Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-driven Workforce Pell (AHEAD) rulemaking committee. The committee met for two separate sessions. The first session focused on the Pell Grant changes, including Workforce Pell, and the second focused on institutional accountability for its graduates’ earnings, which is not on the conference agenda.

According to ED, two separate NPRMs will be published. The first one will concern Pell Grants, including Workforce Pell, a preview of which will be posted to the Federal Register on Friday, March 6. The official federal register notice, which kicks off a 30-day comment period, will be posted on Monday, March 9. The accountability proposed rule is still being drafted by ED, with an uncertain publication date.

Officials from the department then went over the proposed Pell Grant regulatory language, which was agreed to by  consensus at the conclusion of negotiated rulemaking, meaning ED’s proposed regulatory text that it publishes for public comment must match what negotiators agreed to.

During the session’s Q&A segment, ED confirmed that Workforce Pell programs are subject to the same Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4) and Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) rules as other Pell-eligible programs. ED also confirmed that eligible Workforce Pell programs will be subject to the gainful employment (GE) earnings accountability metric, which will be a part of the second NPRM for the AHEAD committee.

FSA said they will prioritize schools’ e-apps that include approval requests for WFP programs because they understand the urgency of getting approval for these by July 1 so schools can make disbursements on time.

Cybersecurity Guidance

Officials from the department also provided an overview of cybersecurity and adhering to standards established by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and explained how financial aid professionals can contribute to cybersecurity discussions at their institutions.

The session focused on safeguarding student data and the readiness advantages institutions have when complying with best practices. Officials specifically talked about how to identify where Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is stored at a given institution and identifying methods to keep it secure.

Officials also detailed resources available to ensure financial aid professionals are protecting the Federal Tax Information they receive from students’ FAFSA forms.

Future of the repayment system

The department then provided an overview of changes being made to the student loan repayment system. Because the final regulations have not yet been drafted following the recent end of the public comment period, ED indicated that most of the presentation would be focused on a direct interpretation of the changes as written in the statute so as not to prejudge the outcome of the final regulations.

The session specifically went over what changes were made to the existing Income Driven-Repayment (IDR) plans, the creation of two new repayment plans, as well as repayment plan eligibility.

Officials made note of the fact that borrowers with consolidated Parent PLUS loans who do not borrow a new loan on or after July 1, 2026 will now have access to both Income Contingent (ICR) and Income Based Repayment (IBR), stressing that this has not received much attention but is good news for parent borrowers.

They also cautioned, however, that Parent PLUS borrowers need to be aware that borrowing a new loan on or after July 1, 2026 will cause them to lose access to ICR as well as Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), and that ED is doing their best to communicate this to borrowers.

Describing the Repayment Assistance Plan, ED noted that borrowers who file taxes using Married Filing Separate status will have their monthly payments calculated using only their individual AGI, but it will also only factor in only the dependents the borrower claims on their own tax return. They also stressed the importance of educating borrowers that only on-time payments will qualify for the interest subsidy and principal match.

ED provided several charts detailing which borrowers will qualify for which repayment plans based on the type(s) of loan(s) they borrow and when they borrow them. The charts were included in ED’s slides which will be published beginning approximately one week after the FSA conference ends.

Department officials shared that they will be updating student loan websites and forms with important information for borrowers, including which repayment plans will sunset and whether and how borrowing a new loan on or after July 1, 2026 could impact their repayment options. Documents will be open for public comment soon and ED officials urged financial aid administrators to comment.

Day 2 Conference Wrap Up

The conference then broke out into separate “birds of a feather” open forum sessions, where attendees were able to join department officials with a focus on community colleges, historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU), Tribal colleges and universities (TCUs), graduate and professional schools, and proprietary schools. These sessions were not recorded.

As a reminder, FSA plans to make recordings of all general sessions available to the public in the coming weeks. NASFAA will provide a link to those resources as soon as they become available. Stay tuned to Today’s News and our social media channels for the most up to date resources.

Publication Date: 3/6/2026

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