NASFAA Town Hall Webinar Emphasizes Reauthorization Priorities, PPY Transition
By Allie Bidwell, Communications Staff
During a Town Hall webinar on Tuesday, NASFAA staff updated members on policy priorities for the upcoming reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA) and answered questions about a range of topics including gainful employment, verification requirements, prior-prior year (PPY) and Early FAFSA, and consumer information disclosures.
NASFAA President Justin Draeger and Megan McClean Coval, NASFAA’s vice president for policy and federal relations, outlined NASFAA’s policy priorities for HEA reauthorization, including making the Pell Grant Program more flexible, supporting campus-based programs, FAFSA simplification, and streamlining consumer information.
Particularly during a time of fiscal austerity and budget cuts, it’s worth noting, Coval said, that there is “a great deal of good will” toward the Pell Grant Program on Capitol Hill, and that it remains protected from any large cuts. One of NASFAA’s priorities, she explained, is not just to maintain support for the program, but to make it more flexible for students, such as through the use of the year-round Pell Grant. While NASFAA is aware of administrative concerns with year-round Pell’s previous iteration, NASFAA supports bringing back some version of a flexible Pell Grant, with the administrative concerns from last time addressed, she said.
And as the idea of a “one grant, one loan” federal aid system gains traction among some lawmakers, NASFAA has advocated for keeping campus-based programs, such as the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, and federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans intact.
Draeger also noted that there is support for simplifying and streamlining the amount of consumer information distributed to students.
“It starts to cross the line of ridiculousness in how much we hope to convey in a meaningful way to students,” he said.
Still, it’s unlikely that Congress will produce a full reauthorization bill in the near future, Draeger said. With the upcoming elections, the turnover of a new administration, and changes in the makeup of Congress, it’s fair to say reauthorization will not happen in the next one to two years, he said.
“That’s not to say we won’t have any action on reauthorization,” he said. Activity is happening now and it will happen next year as the reauthorizing committees continue working on draft legislation, Draeger noted.
Draeger and Coval – as well as other members of NASFAA’s policy and federal relations, and training and regulatory assistance teams – answered members’ questions on Perkins Loans, gainful employment, issues with transitioning to PPY, and consumer information disclosures.
Draeger and Coval – as well as other members of NASFAA’s policy and federal relations, and training and regulatory assistance teams – answered members’ questions on topics such as gainful employment, issues with transitioning to PPY, and consumer information disclosures.
In response to questions about issues with PPY implementation and transitioning to use of the Early FAFSA, Coval noted that NASFAA’s PPY Implementation Task Force has been hard at work for several months delving into potential concerns, and has developed a PPY Toolkit to help financial aid professionals with the transition.
On gainful employment, although there has been interest among some Republican members of Congress to do away with the administration’s regulations, gainful employment as it is now is here to stay, Draeger said in response to a member’s question about the potential for eliminating or changing the rules. Nothing will happen with gainful employment, he said, at least until the elections are over, and even then, it’s unclear what changes might come.
Draeger echoed the frustration of many schools with the lack of clarity of when schools will receive their completers list, and with the shifting timelines in general.
“It’s difficult to be a partner when one side gives itself maximum flexibility with timelines and gives the other side almost no flexibility,” he said. And as schools try to make plans for the upcoming year, trying to work in an “unknown” is particularly trying. Draeger noted that they continue to voice concerns over these issues to the administration and Congress.
The webinar archive is available on-demand now, and is free for NASFAA members.
Publication Date: 5/4/2016
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