Abstract: After two years of study, development, and debate, the Rethinking Student Aid Study Group released a list of recommendations yesterday that would make federal student more coherent, fair, and effective in helping Americans pay for college. The group’s recommendations cover the application process, grants, loans, savings, and institutional aid. Some of the recommendations, like lowering parent PLUS loan interest rates, would simply tweak existing student aid. Others - like creating an ongoing government funded college savings program for low income families - are more dramatic.

The full article was originally published in NASFAA’s Today’s News on 9/19/08.

"[W]hat Cuomo’s investigation undeniably did was put significant pressure on the federal government to step up its regulation of the student loan industry," Inside Higher Ed reports. "But Congress stopped short of embracing two major changes that advocates for students and many financial aid officers argued would truly protect students from being hamstrung by unnecessary private loan debt: (1) requiring college officials to ‘certify’ that a student needs the money he or she is preparing to borrow from a private loan provider and (2) allowing borrowers to discharge private loan debt in bankruptcy. While the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators and its president, Philip R. Day Jr., favored the certification and bankruptcy changes that Congress shunned, ‘on the whole, the bill is a win for borrowers,’ said Justin Draeger, a spokesman for the group."

You can read the complete September 10, 2008 Inside Higher Ed article on-line.

Abstract: Eight direct-to-consumer (DTC) student loan providers agreed yesterday to abide by a code of conduct developed by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to curb misleading private loan marketing. Seven of the eight lenders also agreed to donate more than $1.4 million to the AG’s estimated $15 million national fund to educate students and families about the financial aid process. Many schools and lenders have questioned what has been done with the settlement money accumulated by Cuomo. Inside Higher Ed reports that the AG’s staff has ignored several requests in recent months to detail that spending.

The full article was originally published in NASFAA’s Today’s News on 9/10/08.

Abstract: Some schools may suddenly learn that they are not in compliance with the cash management regulations based on guidance provided in a new position paper released by the Department of Education last week. At issue is how schools with academic years or programs that cross award years may apply Title IV funds to students’ accounts.

The full article was originally published in NASFAA’s Today’s News on 09/08/08.

"Financial aid scams come in two forms," Smart Money reports. "First, you’ve got federal and private loans scams. Other rip-offs relate to scholarships. So how do you recognize a scam? Certainly, the old adage that any offer that sounds too good to be true probably is applies here. Also, watch out for letters with typos or companies that don’t provide a phone number or other contact information, says Justin Draeger, a spokesman for the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA). If parents do receive a loan solicitation that sounds too good to pass up, call the university’s financial aid office to make sure it’s legitimate says, NASFAA’s Draeger."

You can read the complete September 3, 2008 Smart Money article on-line.