The Fix is In! – Finally, Fixing the FAFSA Recently, Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), spoke during a US Senate HELP (The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions) committee hearing about fixing the FAFSA, finally. During the hearing, Senator Lamar proposed five changes
FINAL RULES REGISTER – DISTANCE EDUCATION AND INNOVATION ED has posted the final rules federal register on distance education and innovation published on 9/2/20. The proposed rules were published on 4/2/20. We are providing a summary below.
IRS Data Retrieval Tool - Down The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) will be unavailable on Sunday, April 12, 2020, from midnight to noon Eastern time (ET) as the IRS completes critical system upgrades. During this
FY 2017 Draft Cohort Default Rates Distributed On February 24, 2020, the Department of Education (the Department) distributed the FY 2017 draft cohort default rate (CDR) notification packages to all eligible domestic and foreign schools only. In this announcement, the
Have You Heard? Informed Borrower Tool, Renamed The 2019 FSA Training Conference First Posting of Unanswered Open Forum Questions published last week indicating that the Informed Borrower Tool scheduled to be available for 2020-21 Direct Loan
FEDERAL STUDENT AID CONFERENCE NOTES (December 3-5, 2019) The following information contains notes of interest from this year’s FSA Conference. While some of this information is new or updated, some items are reminders of existing requirements or
Security and Confidentiality of Customer Information DEAR CPA LETTER CPA-19-01 ED’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) has issued Dear CPA Letter CPA-19-01. This letter amends the 2016 Audit Guide that is applicable to proprietary schools and compliance attestation
FINAL RULES FEDERAL REGISTER – ACCREDITATION AND STATE AUTHORIZATION ED published the final rules federal register pertaining to Accreditation and State Authorization on 11/1/19. The rules are effective 7/1/20. However, ED has allowed for early implementation, beginning 11/
TITLE IV CREDIT BALANCE DEADLINES INCLUDING UNCLAIMED TITLE IV CREDIT BALANCES This article provides reminders of the deadlines associated with Title IV credit balances including unclaimed Title IV credit balances. This is not new guidance or new requirements by ED. These are reminders of
FY 2016 COHORT DEFAULT RATES (CDRs) ED distributed the Official FY 2016 CDRs. The official rate and accompanying documentation were sent to schools via their SAIG mailbox. The timeframe for appealing these official rates begins on 10/1/19.
Constitution Day Is Coming, Not the British What is Constitution Day? Constitution Day is observed every year on September 17 to honor the signing and adoption of the constitution of the United States of America by the Founding Fathers in
NASFAA Conference Notes A Conversation with Senate Education Committee Staff Their priorities are: Campus Safety (Jeanne Clery Act) Simplification Common definitions/terms for Financial Aid Award Notifications Accountability and Outcomes They also feel that the Net
2020-2021 Verification On 5/24/19, ED published the federal register on verification for the 2020-2021 award year. The accompanying Dear Colleague Letter GEN-19-02 was published 6/7/19. This article is a comprehensive article
Ready, Set & Pay! Photo by maria pagan / Unsplash As of April 7, 2019, COD System is set, ready and go for paying Title IV funds for 2019-2020 award year. It appears that COD and G5 are
Financial Literacy - It is Not a Joke Photo by Sharon McCutcheon / Unsplash The month of April is known for practical jokes and pranks on the unsuspecting. The month of April also has a serious side and it is no joke.
Empathy Equals Less Stress Photo by Eneida Hoti / Unsplash It goes without saying that working directly with students, parents, and staff is stressful. You are going to encounter upset customers and they share one common goal. They
Generation to Generation Over the years there have been many articles on the difference between the generations. You know the articles I am referring to like who are Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y. Well,
Gift Finding- It’s a Journey into the Unknown It is challenging and stressful work especially if you are a last minute shopper! It is crunch time and you are hard pressed on finding the ultimate holiday gift for a college student
The following are notes of items of interest from the 2018 FSA Conference OPENING SESSION 10% of all FAFSAs are being filed using the mobile app. ED wants to reduce the burden on students selected for verification. The 19-20 selection rates are much lower than this
Do you Know Who Your Students Are? This is an interesting question about who is attending your institution these days. Photo by Andrés Gerlotti / Unsplash When we think about an undergraduate student, what comes to mind? Traditional and conventional wisdom
Gone Phishing! A Whale of a Tale This is a story on how the “big one” got away. To start, let’s plunge into Data Security attacks through phishing and the methods utilized. First, what is phishing? Phishing is a
Special Thanks to All Financial Aid Staff Do you know what day it is? No, it’s not your Birthday or it could be! It’s October 17th which is a very special day because the third Wednesday of every
FISAP is Near! A Deadline is Closer Than it Appears Photo by Bryce Barker / Unsplash Don’t look now, but another deadline is upon us. As announced in the Federal Register Notice “2018-2019 Award Year Deadline
The Founding Fathers Had No Idea! Constitution Day and Title IV Entwined Photo by Anthony Garand / Unsplash Little did we know that we had a date with destiny in December 2004, when the late Senator Robert C. Byrd, believed
Fall is Coming Wait…this reminds me of a popular television show. Photo by Peter Aschoff / Unsplash Seriously, as we approach the traditional “peak time” of the year, I was thinking about how stressful it can