"What happens when our attempt to increase college access backfires, and instead of increasing college access, ends up putting disadvantaged families even further behind the economic eight ball? The federal Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students, more commonly known as the PLUS loan program, provides an unfortunate example," NASFAA President Justin Draeger writes in an op-ed. "For many middle income families, parent PLUS loans are a valuable tool that can help fill the gap between college costs and available financial aid. However, lack of proper underwriting standards have led to unintended and perverse consequences for some of our nation’s most vulnerable populations," he writes.

California officials announced Friday that the state will on Monday move to comply with state authorization regulations—which went into effect by court order on May 26, 2019, the Department of Education (ED) announced last week—and potentially prevent 80,000 students from losing access to federal financial aid, POLITICO reported. The 2016 regulations require that institutions providing distance education to out-of-state students must document that the state in question has a student complaint process or participates in an appropriate state authorization reciprocity agreement. While California has a complaint process in place for proprietary institutions, it did not have one for nonprofit and public institutions, making those students ineligible for Title IV aid. The California Department of Consumer Affairs has created a complaint system for those institutions and will begin public outreach Monday to notify students.

This edition of the Capitol Recap includes a bill that would require states to provide in-state tuition rates to refugees and another that would revise the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program to offer gradual forgiveness. In total, 30 different student aid-related bills were introduced in June. Mirroring the national discussion about student debt, a majority of these bills focused on loan repayment and consumer information. NASFAA’s Capitol Recap provides summaries of each bill introduced in June, while the NASFAA Legislative Tracker provides a comprehensive list of all student aid-related bills introduced so far this session.

Starting with Student Eligibility and finishing with Cash Management, NASFAA U Online Courses are a great way to increase your knowledge and your confidence in compliance. Annual favorites include Return of Title IV Funds and Verification. Cost of Attendance and Administrative Capability make a return to the course schedule, plus many other topics that will be covered this season. Learn from NASFAA U Instructors, practicing aid administrators, and from other students. Courses are three to eight weeks in length and include video lessons, live instruction, desk references, and other reading resources, as well as a chance to assess your understanding of the topics covered. Most courses include the associated credential test for those who successfully pass the class. Registration is now open—sign up now to secure your spot.

Planning for the 2020 NASFAA Leadership & Legislative Conference & Expo is underway! NASFAA is looking for volunteers to join one of three task forces focused on building the program for three pathways. Members may apply to be part of the Advanced Topics in Financial Aid Leadership, Compliance Management, or Strategic Enrollment Management task forces. Members of each respective task force will participate in conference calls and emails from August 2019 through March 2020. Read the full task force charter and, if interested, volunteer by Wednesday, July 31.

Generally, no, but there is an exception. According to guidance NASFAA has received from the U.S. Department of Education (ED), a W-2 generated from tax preparation software (whether online, on a personal computer, or by a tax preparer) is not an acceptable equivalent of a W-2 for verification purposes. View the full answer to this question to learn more and search for answers to your other pressing regulatory and compliance questions, in NASFAA's AskRegs Knowledgebase.

The Fiscal Operations Report for 2018–19 and Application to Participate for 2020–21 (FISAP) has been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The FISAP will be made available on the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) Web Site by August 1. 

Consistent with the decisions of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, this document memorializes that selected provisions of these final regulations took effect on May 26, 2019.

NSLDS is used for research, policy analysis, monitoring student enrollment, calculating default rates, monitoring program participants and verifying student eligibility.

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