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The Department of Education (ED) published a blog post on Wednesday that provided an update on the return to student loan repayment, and confirmed that it will begin reporting late or missing payments for most federal student loan borrowers to national credit reporting agencies in January 2025.

In response to the recent hurricanes impacting much of the country's Southeast region, NASFAA is making a batch of AskRegs items publicly available to ensure that institutions have access to this important guidance. Existing guidance regarding the impact of a "major disaster" on the administration of Title IV student assistance programs is now publicly available on AskRegs.

The Department of Education (ED), on October 10, updated its Beta Central page for the 2025-26 FAFSA, where it identified and implemented a fix for an unknown error message impacting 10% of applicants. The error, which was observed during the department’s in-person user observation events, occurred during the creation of a StudentAid.gov account within the FAFSA form itself. “The Department continues to prioritize and invest in fixing issues that impact the FAFSA user experience,” the update read. “As we move closer to the general availability of the 2025–26 form on or by Dec. 1, we will continue to work quickly to resolve issues and report them on this page.”

NASFAA’s “Off The Cuff” team will be postponing this week’s recording, but you can still find the latest higher education news coming from the Department of Education (ED), the White House, and Congress in Today’s News every day. In the meantime, be sure to catch up on previous and featured episodes including the latest news on the 2025-26 FAFSA, the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) repayment plan, professional judgement, and more! Also, be sure to send us your comments and suggestions for future episodes.

In the past year, every season has seemed busy for financial aid offices. As we shift into the fall, we know your days are getting shorter, making your time all the more precious. That's why NASFAA has developed our online courses to reach your offices in the most efficient ways to help bolster your professional development. Check out the five reasons why you should consider enrolling in an upcoming course.

Join us for Voices of NASFAA today at 12 p.m. ET to honor Hispanic Heritage Month. For this episode, we’ll be speaking with Silvia Marquez, executive director of financial aid and scholarships at the University of California, San Diego. Silvia has more than 20 years of student service experience in higher education, including director roles in both financial aid and admissions. As Silvia shares her voice with us, we will also take time to reflect on what Hispanic Heritage Month means for our community and profession.

Please join us in congratulating Melissa Vargas and Amanda Nicholson on their promotions. Also join us in congratulating Christine Forgie, FAAC®, and Patricia Peterson on their new positions. Celebrate your own career developments by completing the "Movers and Shakers" form to share the news with your colleagues.

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