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The nation’s higher education system needs to make several adjustments to better serve students and taxpayers – and now is the time to do it, according to Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN).

In a report released yesterday, the Urban Institute explores new avenues for providing information about the availability of college financial aid to lower-income families with children in middle school. The study reviewed numerous social programs for low-income families, and ultimately focused on communication strategies for families in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid programs, but also looked at the federal income tax filing process.

With the conference starting in just 2 days, I’m sure most, if not all, of you have all your stuff ready to go for New Orleans! I'll be stationed at the NASFAA booth in the exhibit hall and working shifts at the T-shirt and registration desks, which will give me the opportunity to introduce myself to all of you! Read on to learn more about the meetings and events I attended last week and the projects I am working on. And don't forget to check out my Facebook album for pictures I've taken while in D.C.

An abbreviated version of Today's News will be coming to you live from San Diego Monday - Thursday next week with exciting updates about all that is going on at the 2017 NASFAA National Conference. Readers can expect the daily issue of Today's News to reach their inboxes later than usual while staff are in California for the conference. But remember, you don't have to wait for Today's News to keep up with what's going. NASFAA staff will be posting frequent updates and brief highlights from select sessions throughout the conference, on the Conference Summaries page—check back frequently.

With the new "Favorites" feature on the updated NASFAA.org, you can save a list of content you frequently visit – and add up to 3 items to your dashboard – so you can easily navigate to them from your computer and mobile devices. Check out this brief video to learn more about the favorites feature and stay tuned to Today's News for videos about other features! Got some feedback to share? Fill out this feedback form and let us know what you think!

Whether you’re the financial aid director or an understudy rehearsing for the leading role, "You’re the Director: A Guide to Leadership in Student Financial Aid (2nd edition)" can help. This book is a must-have for new and aspiring financial aid professionals, as well as for seasoned financial aid directors seeking to improve their leadership skills. Order your copy today.

The Chief Operating Officer for Federal Student Aid announces the interest rates for loans made under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program on or after July 1, 2015, but before July 1, 2016.

FSA is initiating a formal assessment program of the Guaranty Agencies that will ensure the continued confidentiality and integrity of data entrusted to FSA by students and families.

"...The [Government Accountability Office]... found that the large number of regulations governing student financial aid were 'the most burdensome' on colleges and universities," according to The Hechinger Report. "Nearly half of financial aid officers surveyed in April by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators echoed this, saying that handling government red tape took so much time it left less opportunity for counselors to meet in person with students."

"More than five years after President Obama won his contentious fight to remove private lenders from the federal government’s student loan program, his administration is still sparring with parts of the student lending industry," Inside Higher Ed reports.

"It’s no secret Americans are having trouble paying off their record $1.2 trillion in student loans. What’s less known is that the trend is turning a typically sleepy corner of the bond market into a potential hazard zone," Bloomberg Business reports.

"Nearly one in five college and university chief business officers are worried their institutions are at risk of shutting down in the foreseeable future, and skepticism over the financial model of their institutions continues from last year," according to a survey by Inside Higher Ed and Gallup.

"Though federal lawmakers introduced legislation last week that would make two years of community college free, the N.C. Senate budget proposal increases the cost of a community college education," The Daily Tarheel reports.

"Liberty University is not just your average school down the road. The once small Christian college founded in 1971 by the Rev. Jerry Falwell now has the largest student body of any private nonprofit university in the country," The Washington Post reports.

"In my last column, I expressed trepidation about Minerva's for-profit venture into education. This week, I want to share the sources of my skepticism. But rather than waging a polemic against for-profit education, I've surveyed some recent facts related to student debt, federal oversight, and school closures," William Fenton writes in PC Magazine.

"College, once a sure ticket to the middle class, is causing a lot of anxiety these days. People are concerned about its cost, about low graduation rates and about the poor employment prospects for some graduates," Ramesh Ponnuru writes for Bloomberg View in the Daily Chronicle.

"Student loan refinancing is a relatively new space with a lot of buzz surrounding it. ... Chatter about the country’s student loan debt problem is prevalent, and many of my friends and acquaintances have asked me about the opportunity to capture some of this market through potential IPOs or by investing in the asset class. I’m not in the business of giving investment advice, but I do think there will be extremely strong growth for the student loan refinancing industry," Stephen Dash writes for Forbes.

"In January, President Barack Obama announced his plan to make two years of community college free for students. ...However, one possible unanticipated outcome of this policy could be that some students, who would otherwise have enrolled in a four-year institution, would choose to enroll in a community college instead in order to take advantage of the subsidy," according to the Brookings Institution's Brown Center Chalkboard blog.

"​Last week, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced that plans are moving forward to expand access to an income-driven repayment plan that caps federal student loan borrowers' payments at 10 percent of their discretionary income," Betsy Mayotte writes in U.S. News & World Report's Student Loan Ranger blog. "As with existing repayment plans, forgiveness would be taxed as income. The new plan would be an improvement for some borrowers, but others may find their current plan is a better fit for their circumstances.​"

"President Obama won a major victory by kicking banks out of the federal student loan program in 2010. It was no-brainer good policy. Now Governor Martin O’Malley is proposing to let the same banks into the program through the back door. And expensive colleges are likely to pick up a little cash as part of the deal," Jason Delisle writes in New America's EdCentral blog.

"When a court-approved deal to keep Sweet Briar College open was signed last month, many had just one question: Will students come back?" Susan Svrluga writes in The Washington Post's Grade Point blog.

"Like other grandparents, we're convinced our grandchildren are the smartest and most perfect creatures on the planet. We've had college 529 savings accounts for them since they were born and know that someday they will cure cancer, end poverty and save the planet!" Dr. Mike Metke writes in The Huffington Post's education blog. "Statistically, it's far more likely they will graduate with a mountain of student loan debt that will bury them forever."

The Missouri Association of Student Financial Aid Personnel has published a new issue of its newsletter, the MASFAP Monitor.

VIEW NEXT ISSUE

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