MAFAA :: Minnesota Association of Financial Aid Administrators

One feature of NASFAA’s AskRegs Knowledgebase, which provides answers to regulatory and compliance questions submitted by financial aid administrators, is the ability for a NASFAA member to subscribe to individual Knowledgebase articles viewed in order to receive any updates to those articles. Occasionally, NASFAA updates articles due to changes in the law or regulations or clarifications of U.S. Department of Education (ED) guidance. By clicking “Subscribe” at the bottom of each article, the member will receive an immediate email notification if and when an article is updated. 

Posted on 16 May 2013 | 6:00 pm

"We like to view higher education as the "great equalizer" that leads to social mobility. But selective colleges have long been accused of perpetuating class divides, rather than blurring them," Josh Freedman writes in The Atlantic.

Posted on 16 May 2013 | 6:00 pm

"The days of fixed-rate student loans could be coming to a close, with House Republicans on Thursday advancing a proposal that would link rates to financial markets," The Washington Post reports.

Posted on 16 May 2013 | 6:00 pm

"U.S. Senate Democrats [Wednesday] called for a two-year postponement of a scheduled increase in the interest rate charged on education loans to millions of college students," Bloomberg reports.

Posted on 16 May 2013 | 6:00 pm

"...Arkansas doesn't have a host of professional schools. It lacks a school for dentistry, optometry, and veterinary studies to name a few...Without having an institution to attend in-state for the missing programs, the Arkansas Department of Higher Education [ADHE] reached compact agreements with schools in the southeast to save 'slots' for Arkansas students in their programs," KARK 4 News reports.

Posted on 16 May 2013 | 6:00 pm

The Department of Education (ED) released interim final rules, a Dear Colleague Letter, and an Electronic Announcement related to the 150% subsidized loan limitation, effective for new borrowers on or after July 1, 2013. As part of the law that extended the 3.4% interest rate for Direct Subsidized Loans until July 1, 2013, a new borrower on or after July 1, 2013 becomes ineligible to receive additional Direct Subsidized Loans if the period during which the borrower has received such loans exceeds 150 percent of the published length of the borrower’s educational program.

Posted on 16 May 2013 | 6:00 pm

"For several years, I have watched the higher education community engage in hand-wringing over strategies for improving the educational outcomes for low- and moderate-income students. At present, low-income students remain less likely to enroll and complete college, when compared to their higher-income peers," Michelle Asha Cooper writes in The Huffington Post.

Posted on 16 May 2013 | 6:00 pm

"Federal investigators are probing whether a former top Education Department official violated the law by allegedly sharing information inappropriately about new regulations with an advocacy group he founded," the Wall Street Journal reports.

Posted on 16 May 2013 | 6:00 pm

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) recently issued a final alert memorandum regarding the Office of Federal Student Aid’s (FSA) lack of enforcement of a contract requirement that stipulates Private Collection Agencies (PCAs) must report verbal complaints from borrowers to FSA.

Posted on 15 May 2013 | 6:00 pm

A new report from the New America Foundation alleges many colleges are doing a financial disservice to their low income students, but several assumptions at its core have some financial aid administrators questioning the findings. In “Undermining Pell How Colleges

Posted on 15 May 2013 | 6:00 pm