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Edamerica. As a division of Edfinancial, we are solely dedicated to advancing student success. With services that include Contact Center Solutions, Student Engagement, Financial Aid Support, Default Prevention and Consulting, we support students from point of application through loan repayment. Visit www.edamerica.net to learn how we can make a difference for your students.

NASFAA needs your help in making the case for a continuation of verification waivers authorized under GEN-21-05 for 2022-23. Because the Department of Education (ED) is still considering “additional flexibilities to the verification process for the 2022-23 award year,” time is of the essence if we want to have waivers extended into the coming award year. By Thursday, Sept. 23, NASFAA members are encouraged to use this form to submit stories and anecdotes, backed up by data whenever possible, that demonstrate how these waivers benefited your students. Submissions should be specific, concise, and paint a picture of how your school utilized these waivers. Compelling submissions will be shared with our federal decision makers. Personally identifiable data will not be shared.

As congressional committees parse their way through legislation that could bring about a significant increase to the Pell Grant, a new report has found that by doubling Pell, student debt could be cut in half. The report comes from the Gender Equity Policy Institute (GEPI), which has looked to examine the impact of improvements to the Pell Grant program by focusing on how the proposed expansion of benefits would be distributed across gender, race, and ethnicity.

Are you familiar with NASFAA's "Ask Mr. Ethics" series? Using NASFAA's Code of Conduct as a guide, Mr. Ethics offers practical advice on a range of topics. It's been a while since Mr. Ethics answered any new questions, but today he's back tackling a question about the "de minimus" dollar amount a financial aid professional can receive legally as a gift or benefit from a vendor. Are you working through a common ethical question and want some help? Email [email protected] with your inquiry. We will make sure your identity remains anonymous if your question is chosen to run in Today's News. Check out prior Ask Mr. Ethics columns for answers to other tricky questions.

We need your great ideas for engaging, relevant, and interesting conference sessions. All types of session proposals are welcome, from those focused on advocacy, training, and professional development, to sessions structured as open-forum discussions. We urge you to construct your session proposal with an eye toward inclusion, ensuring speakers from all different backgrounds — particularly those from marginalized groups — are represented. All proposals must be received by Sunday, October 31, 2021. Visit our Presenters and Moderators page to submit a proposal.

Happy new (award) year! October 1 is just around the corner, which means a new award year begins. Schools need to update their financial aid policies and procedures to reflect new rules and processes. Have you updated your P&Ps yet? If not, Blue Icon can help. We can evaluate the current state of your P&Ps and help you write new ones specific to your institution. Contact Blue Icon for more information today!

The new aid officer webinar training series kicks off Tuesday, September 21 at 2:00 p.m. ET with an overview of the financial aid programs. The webinars in this series were developed for those with less than two years of professional financial aid experience, but may also provide helpful refreshers for more experienced aid administrators. Access to both the live and on-demand webinars is complementary to NASFAA members. The recordings will be available for one year from the live webinar date. Each session will be approximately 90 minutes in length. Register here. 

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