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NASFAA's Developing Leaders Pipeline. Applications are now open for the 2026-27 Developing Leaders Pipeline. This award-winning program provides participants with a robust portfolio of benefits, mentorship, and guidance to help them develop as financial aid leaders at the state, regional, and national levels. NASFAA members: apply online by September 30.

This week on "Off the Cuff," Natalie is joined by Kerline Eglaus, Ed.D, MBA, FAAC^®, assistant vice provost of financial initiatives & chief financial aid administrator, and Daniel Matamoros, Ph.D, MEd, MFT, CEPF^®, FAAC^®, director of financial aid scholarships, both of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, to discuss how they have worked to bring financial aid into broader institutional conversations and build campus-wide ownership of implementation related to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) through trainings, updated communications and sustainable approaches. This conversation is a continuation of our “Voices of NASFAA” series, previously hosted on LinkedIn.

The fiscal year (FY) 2023 federal student loan national cohort default rate (CDR), due later this month from the Department of Education (ED), is expected to rise from the FY 2022 rate. Set at zero for the past three years due to the Covid-19 payment pause (March 20, 2020 through September 1, 2023) and subsequent on-ramp to repayment (when borrowers were protected from the consequences of delinquency, including default, between October 1, 2023 and September 30, 2024), the FY 2023 CDR will be the first since FY 2019 that includes a default measurement period during which federal student loan borrowers could have potentially entered default status.

Amid the intense focus on changes stemming from One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), another consequential set of regulatory changes may be getting less attention than it deserves: new requirements for Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4), which also took effect July 1, 2026. As institutions continue navigating the new federal student aid landscape, now is an important time to make sure these R2T4 changes — and what they mean for your policies, procedures, and students — aren’t getting lost in the shuffle. Blue Icon Advisors can help you bridge the gap between policy and practice, giving you confidence that these changes have been implemented correctly and your institution remains compliant. Learn more and contact Blue Icon today to help with your R2T4 implementation.

Please join us in congratulating Heather Bonaventura, Elines Antonio, Jessica Cooper, and Heather Farabee on their promotions. Also join us in congratulating  Brynn Juranek, Jayme Jarrett, FAAC^®, and Chuck Knepfle on their new jobs. Celebrate your own career developments by completing the "Movers and Shakers" form to share the news with your colleagues.

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