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CampusLogic. "Our old [award letter] process was 85% manual," says Neumann University's DFA. "The setup, template creation, mail-merge, Excel spreadsheets, those things were nothing compared to how overwhelming all of the information was for our students." Learn how different things are since Neumann maximized Colleague with AwardLetter by CampusLogic

As the Trump administration is seeking to cut the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program in 2019, and Congress passed a spending bill last month to protect borrowers who intended to qualify for forgiveness under the program, new data from the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) shows that the number of borrowers on track to have their loans discharged continues to rise.

In a report released Monday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) updated its budget and economic outlook for the next 10 years, saying that if current tax and spending laws remain unchanged, federal deficit would grow "substantially" over the next few years, "with accumulating deficits driving debt held by the public to nearly 100 percent of GDP by 2028." Specific to federal student loans, the CBO increased projected outlays by $10 billion, or 23 percent, due to a larger number of projected defaults and failure to collect on those defaults, as well as increased enrollment in income-driven repayment plans. The report also said the financing of new federal student loans is expected to increase the nation's debt by $80 billion in 2018. Read the full report online.

We have extended the early-bird registration discount for the 2018 NASFAA National Conference in Austin. Check out the full schedule for descriptions of all the great sessions and planned activities. Need help convincing your supervisor to let you attend? On the conference website, you'll find tools and templates you can use to explain the benefits you and your institution will gain from attending. Register by Monday, May 7 to save $100 on your registration.

In the latest issue of the Journal of Student Financial Aid (JSFA), Karen R. Hlinka, Kevin L. Gericke, S. Renea Akin, and Lisa G. Stephenson look at the Community Scholarship Program, a last-dollar program at Western Kentucky Community and Technical College that pays for up to 60 credit hours toward a technical certification or associate degree. The authors conducted a series of student interviews and, using the data gathered, compiled practical suggestions for improving the Community Scholarship Program and similar place-based scholarship programs. Read this full article and others in the latest issue of JSFA.

Ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of NASFAA’s daily newsletter and website? How about the podcast, or various other NASFAA projects? NASFAA’s new video series has all your answers — meet the communications team over the next few weeks and discover how each member keeps NASFAA up and running every day. Find out why the team’s newest addition, tech project specialist Jayna Johns, is excited about her new position, and what she discovered about the atmosphere at NASFAA so far. Learn more about Jayna and the team here. 

"A new web tool from the Urban Institute reveals the geographic distribution of student loan debt, with interactive data on debt levels and the share of people who took out student loans at both state and county levels," Inside Higher Ed reports.

"The college admissions season is coming to a close and once again, the results demonstrate the growing divide in American higher education between the haves and have-nots," Jeffrey Selingo writes for The Washington Post.

"One of the most important — but least known — achievements of the Obama administration was the expansion of the income-driven repayment program for federal student loans. The program aims to make student loan payments affordable for everyone, regardless of their income," John Brooks writes in an opinion piece for The New York Times. "But Republicans, in their endless quest to undo everything Mr. Obama did, are now trying to dismantle the program under the guise of reform, citing misleading claims of high costs and low effectiveness. In fact, the program's costs are low, and the student loan system as a whole is financially self-sustaining."

"I am an unlikely president of an liberal arts college. But as the son of a coal miner, a first-generation college student, and someone who works with college kids every day, I know firsthand the transformative power of higher education in America. I have witnessed how it breaks the cycle of poverty and dependence to develop leaders in all walks of life," Mark McCoy, president of DePauw University, writes for The Hill.

"Student loans are central to financing college educations, yet millions of borrowers are in default. That is clear evidence that the system is in dire need of improvement," Susan Dynarski writes for The New York Times. "In fact, new research on student loans is reinforcing a key lesson of behavioral economics: Seemingly minor details matter in a major way. Who answers the phone at the loan company, what choices you’re offered and how they are framed can have profound effects on your financial well-being."

"... Secretary [Betsy] DeVos's decision gives ACICS at least a temporary reprieve by resetting the clock on how long ACICS-recognized colleges can receive federal financial aid—and this not surprisingly resulted in howls of protest from representatives of liberal-leaning organizations. But although ACICS will continue to exist in the short term, I expect that ACICS will no longer exist in five years. I explain the two reasons for my prediction below," Robert Kelchen, an assistant professor at Seton Hall University, writes on his blog.

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