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The NASFAA 2027 Leadership & Legislative Conference & Expo. If you are a financial aid professional who wants to grow professionally, expand your network, and become a leader in the industry, this learning opportunity is designed for you. Join us February 21-24 in Washington, D.C. Register by November 30 to take advantage of members-only, early bird pricing.

In 2025-26, the financial aid community has seen sweeping changes to federal student aid, including an enormous implementation effort following the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). Financial aid professionals have been asked to interpret new requirements, overhaul policies and processes, update systems, educate campus colleagues, and explain consequential changes to students and families — often without the timely, clear, and consistent federal guidance or the resources needed to do that work with confidence. Through it all, financial aid professionals continue to show up for students — by translating complicated policies into answers families can understand, anticipating problems before students encounter them, and, when circumstances beyond their control create uncertainty, helping students find a path forward. Take a look at our annual impact report, for more on these and other efforts and accomplishments.

The U.S. is deeply mired in a student loan crisis, where a growing number of students are borrowing too much for higher education, struggling to repay, and falling into default. It is easy to blame this crisis on the borrowing behavior of students and parents, but in “A Dream Defaulted: The Student Loan Crisis Among Black Borrowers,” authors Jason N. Houle and Fenaba R. Addo argue that excessive student loan debt in the U.S. is a racialized policy issue. In the following book review, Angela Mitchell, campus financial aid director Arizona College of Nursing -  Chesapeake VA Campus, shares her opinions of its contents. What follows are her takeaways, thoughts, and reflections.

This AskRegs Knowledgebase Q&A was updated on October 22, 2026, to clarify that the U.S. Department of Education's (ED's) sample verification text should not be misinterpreted as requiring the student's signature for identity verification. No. The student's signature is not required when completing identity verification in verification tracking group V4 or V5. This means the student does not need to sign a verification worksheet, form, written statement, notary certification, etc. for purposes of verifying their identity. The student's signature may be needed on a worksheet, form, or statement for other, non-identity verification purposes, however. View the full answer to this question to learn more.

NASFAA will be closed on Tuesday, November 3, in order to give NASFAA staff time to fulfill their civic duty by volunteering and voting at the polls on Election Day. NASFAA's Today's News will still be sent, but membership and technical support — as well as responses to AskRegs inquiries — may be slightly delayed. Office functions will resume at full capacity on Wednesday, November 4.

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