NASFAA's Off the Cuff Podcast
271 episodes - English - Latest episode: 16 days ago - ★★★★★ - 77 ratingsHosted by NASFAA staff, this weekly podcast offers an unscripted view of hot financial aid and higher education-related topics. Justin Draeger and co-hosts will discuss what's happening inside the beltway to give you an insider's perspective.
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Episodes
OTC Inside The Beltway: NASFAA Testifies on 2024-25 FAFSA Rollout
April 11, 2024 20:43 - 1 hour - 85.3 MBThis week on "Off The Cuff," Justin, Karen, Rachel, and Tim discuss Justin's testimony this week before the House Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development on the Department of Education's (ED) rollout of the 2024-25 FAFSA. Karen also debriefs listeners on the latest NASFAA poll asking members about which first-year undergraduate student populations, if any, they plan to send aid offers to by May 1. From there, the team discusses the latest FAFSA updates from ED on the statu...
OTC Inside The Beltway: Unpacking the FAFSA Tax Data Issues
April 04, 2024 21:24 - 49 minutes - 67.8 MBThis week on "Off The Cuff," Justin, Karen, and Tim discuss this week's news that the Department of Education (ED) identified three issues concerning tax data reported on FAFSA applicant records. The team dives into the details of those identified issues, and what the department is doing next — including the latest update to reprocess all affected records. Tim also provides context on how financial aid professionals are currently feeling amid these challenges.
OTC Inside the Beltway: A Big Year for Delays
March 28, 2024 18:48 - 42 minutes - 57.9 MBThis week on “Off the Cuff,” Allie, Karen, and Rachel discuss the latest adjustments to the rollout of the 2024-25 FAFSA, including a miscalculation in the SAI formula. The team covers a number of other possible FAFSA issues and outlines what updates they would like to see from the Department of Education (ED) as the rollout begins to ramp up. Rachel then provides an update on the federal budget cycle, where Congress recently completed its work for the fiscal year 2024, and now turns to the ...
OTC Inside the Beltway: Storm Clouds on the FAFSA Summit as ISIR Rollout Begins
March 14, 2024 18:56 - 39 minutes - 53.7 MBThis week on “Off the Cuff” Justin, Karen, Allie, and Tim are back with the latest news on the 2024-25 FAFSA with recent updates from the Department of Education (ED) about the delivery of Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs). The team dives into recent electronic announcements detailing updates, fixes, and troubleshooting issues impacting users without Social Security numbers, rejected ISIRs, and ongoing issues with EDconnect software. The discussion then turns to recent nation...
OTC Inside The Beltway: Keeping Track of ED’s Updated FAFSA Timeline
March 07, 2024 20:26 - 33 minutes - 45.4 MBThis week on "Off The Cuff," Justin and Karen are joined by NASFAA Community Manager Tim Maggio to discuss the latest news surrounding the 2024-25 FAFSA, with a focus on the Department of Education’s (ED) planned rollout of Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs). The team walks through each of the steps ED detailed in its recent electronic announcement and provides insight into the key timeline and benchmarks that the department is promising to meet in the coming weeks. Tim then s...
OTC Inside The Beltway: Making Sense of The SAI Formula Update and Latest Federal Budget Negotiations
February 29, 2024 20:49 - 32 minutes - 22.2 MBThis week on "Off The Cuff," Allie and Karen are joined by Jon Fansmith, the American Council on Education's senior vice president of government relations and national engagement, to discuss an update to the Student Aid Index (SAI) formula from the Department of Education (ED), which allows the Student’s Contribution from Income (SCI) to have a negative calculated value with no floor. However, the team also discusses how a continuing resolution (CR) passed by the House would rescind that upd...
OTC From the Field: Let's Dig Through Some FAFSA Data
February 22, 2024 20:46 - 43 minutes - 30 MBThis week on a special episode of "Off The Cuff," Justin and Karen are joined by Bill DeBaun, the National College Attainment Network's senior director of data and strategic initiatives, to discuss the 2024-25 FAFSA rollout. Bill debriefs listeners on trends found in NCAN's FAFSA Tracker, which tracks completion rates for the 2024-25 FAFSA cycle. Justin and Karen also discuss other news from the week, including the additional release of eight test Institutional Student Information Record (IS...
OTC Inside The Beltway: Debriefing the NASFAA Leadership Conference and ED's FAFSA College Support Strategy
February 15, 2024 20:20 - 49 minutes - 34.2 MBThis week on "Off The Cuff," Justin and Karen are joined by Hugh to recap NASFAA's 2024 Leadership & Legislative Conference & Expo, and discuss the Department of Education's (ED) new "FAFSA College Support Strategy." Justin debriefs listeners on the new initiative, explains what NASFAA's partnership entails and how it will aim to help severely under-resourced institutions get ready to receive, and review, Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs) in March. Additionally, the team disc...
OTC Inside The Beltway: Working Through the ISIR Delivery Delay
February 01, 2024 20:24 - 59 minutes - 40.8 MBThis week on "Off The Cuff," Justin and Karen are joined by Jon Fansmith, the American Council on Education's senior vice president of government relations, to discuss this week’s news that institutions and states will begin receiving Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs) in the "first half of March." The team breaks down the announcement from the Department of Education, answers frequently asked questions, and shares NASFAA's efforts to advocate for financial aid offices. Additi...
OTC Inside the Beltway: Making Sense of the 2024-25 FAFSA Timeline
January 25, 2024 20:55 - 36 minutes - 25 MBThis week in a special episode of “Off the Cuff,” the fun with FAFSA never stops! Justin, Karen, and Allie dive into the latest news surrounding the 2024-25 FAFSA timeline that is leading many higher education advocates and students to grow increasingly concerned about the impending time crunch for the annual aid cycle. The team digs into the Department of Education’s (ED) announcement that it will update the tables used to protect a portion of a family’s income and assets from being conside...
OTC AskRegs Experts: Are We Still Having Fun With FAFSA?
January 18, 2024 20:08 - 38 minutes - 26.5 MBThis week on "Off the Cuff," Allie, Jill, and David recap the latest negotiated rulemaking session that focused on a number of issues, including cash management, distance education, R2T4, and more. Plus, the team dives into reported issues stemming from the FAFSA soft launch, some fixes that have been made available to students and families, and where financial aid professionals can keep tabs on issue alerts and progress.
OTC Inside the Beltway: Tackling the 2024-25 FAFSA Soft Launch
January 04, 2024 23:19 - 45 minutes - 31 MBThis week on “Off the Cuff,” Justin is joined by Karen and NASFAA's Tim Maggio to discuss the biggest financial aid news so far in 2024 — the soft launch of the 2024-25 FAFSA. Justin and Karen discuss the current state of the launch, issues and outages that have impacted the form’s availability, and what updates they are looking for from the Department of Education in the weeks ahead. Tim then highlights some chatter from the financial aid community, as well as some social media posts that h...
OTC AskRegs Experts: Debt Relief Neg Reg Updates and Unpacking FAFSA Family Size
December 14, 2023 20:16 - 39 minutes - 27.3 MBThis week on "Off the Cuff," Allie, Jill, and David discuss updates with the negotiated rulemaking process for student debt relief and unpack a new FAFSA term – family size. Jill kicks off the podcast by debriefing listeners on the latest negotiated rulemaking session on student debt relief, including which provisions the committee reached consensus on and where they disagreed. David then goes into the intricacies of family size, including answering different "what about" questions from NASF...
OTC Inside the Beltway: Recapping Those Warm and Fuzzy Feelings from the FSA Training Conference
December 05, 2023 19:22 - 42 minutes - 29.4 MBThis week on "Off the Cuff," Justin is joined by Karen and NASFAA’s Sarah Austin to recap Federal Student Aid’s (FSA) 2023 virtual training conference. The team discusses a number of sessions held throughout the four-day event and highlights their biggest takeaways from the conference, including updates on FAFSA simplification, the FAFSA partner portal, new data-sharing guidance, FSA enforcement, topics and conversations brought up in the NASFAA Slack community, and more.
OTC From the Field:Breaking Down Student Loan Programs With Dr. Tisa Silver Canady
November 30, 2023 20:27 - 36 minutes - 25 MBThis week on a special episode of “Off The Cuff,” Justin is joined by Dr. Tisa Silver Canady, the founder and executive director of the Maryland Center for Collegiate Financial Wellness, to discuss student loan repayment, including some significant changes in the system that occurred in the past three years during the pause on federally-held student loans, and where things stand as repayment resumes. Justin and Tisa break down what repayment options are available to borrowers, discuss the im...
OTC Inside the Beltway: ED Details FAFSA Release Date and ISIR Delay, While Appropriators Avert a Government Shutdown - For Now
November 16, 2023 20:39 - 38 minutes - 26.5 MBThis week on “Off the Cuff,” Justin is joined by Karen and Rachel to dig into the Department of Education’s (ED) latest announcement concerning the rollout of the 2024-25 FAFSA. The team discussed ED’s pledge to release the FAFSA by December 31 and highlighted how the delayed delivery of Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs) could impact schools. Justin and Karen then discuss what this compressed timeline could mean for financial aid professionals and detail the ways in which NAS...
OTC AskRegs Experts: Updates on Student Debt Relief Neg Reg and the FAFSA 24-25 Contributor
November 09, 2023 20:44 - 31 minutes - 21.5 MBThis week on "Off the Cuff," Allie, Jill, and David discuss updates with the negotiated rulemaking process for student debt relief and new changes with FAFSA simplification and the contributor process. Jill first debriefs listeners on last week’s negotiated rulemaking session on student loan debt relief and the Department of Education's proposed regulatory text. David then explains how a student can invite a contributor to complete the FAFSA and other intricacies with the contributor process...
OTC Inside the Beltway: Working Through Those FAFSA Fears
November 02, 2023 19:20 - 37 minutes - 26 MBThis week on "Off The Cuff," Justin and Karen are joined by Jon Fansmith, the American Council on Education's senior vice president of government relations and national engagement, to discuss the latest fears from the financial aid community surrounding outstanding questions on the rollout of FAFSA simplification. The team digs into those concerns, offers suggestions on contingency planning, and stresses for aid offices to remain flexible as the department approaches its December rollout. Th...
OTC From the Field: Unpacking Third Way's Economic Mobility Index and Graduate Student Debt
October 26, 2023 19:20 - 37 minutes - 25.9 MBThis week on a special episode of "Off The Cuff," Justin is joined by Chazz Robinson, education policy advisor at Third Way, to discuss his work on Third Way's 2023 Economic Mobility Index (EMI). Chazz explains the methodology for the index, and how some institutions were given high EMI scores. Additionally, Chazz and Justin discuss issues about graduate student debt, and what policy discussions lawmakers are having on the issue. Maria then brings us the news of the week, including new final...
OTC AskRegs Experts: Debriefing Student Debt Relief Neg Reg and Parent of Record for 2024-25 FAFSA
October 19, 2023 17:50 - 33 minutes - 23 MBThis week on "Off the Cuff," Allie, Jill, and David discuss the first committee session of the Department of Education's (ED) negotiated rulemaking process for student debt relief and the nuances of the "parent of record" term on the 2024-25 FAFSA. Allie and Jill kick things off by running through where things stand in the negotiated rulemaking process, and what topics and solutions negotiators discussed during the two-day session. David then walks the group through different examples of who...
OTC From the Field: The College Cost Transparency Initiative
October 12, 2023 17:04 - 24 minutes - 16.7 MBThis week on a special episode of “Off The Cuff,” Justin is joined by Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education (ACE), to discuss the College Cost Transparency Initiative (CCT) — a coalition of hundreds of institutions aimed at improving transparency of student financial aid offers. Justin and Ted dive into the formation of the CCT task force last year, how higher education advocacy groups and institutions have engaged in the process, the rollout of the initiative’s princi...
OTC Inside the Beltway: Debriefing Negotiated Rulemaking, New Gainful Employment Regulations, and Influx of Borrower Defense Claims
October 05, 2023 19:26 - 41 minutes - 28.2 MBThis week on "Off The Cuff," Justin and Karen are joined by Jon Fansmith, the American Council on Education's senior vice president of government relations and national engagement, to discuss how Congress avoided a government shutdown and what that means for federal funding for the Office of Federal Student Aid. The team then discusses the upcoming negotiated rulemaking sessions for student debt relief, including the issue paper the Department of Education (ED) released before the October se...
OTC From the Field: Concerningly High Turnover Rates for Financial Aid Employees
September 28, 2023 20:03 - 40 minutes - 27.7 MBThis week on a special episode of “Off The Cuff,” Justin is joined by Andy Brantley, president and CEO at College & University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR), to discuss findings from the latest iteration of their higher education employee retention survey. The results of the survey found concerning trends related to the financial aid profession’s retention rates, where a majority of financial aid professionals say they’re at least somewhat likely to look for other em...
OTC AskRegs Experts: All Things Repayment and the Not So Very Normal FAFSA Year
September 21, 2023 17:21 - 38 minutes - 26.5 MBThis week on "Off the Cuff," Allie, Jill, and David discuss the latest details on the return to student loan repayment and highlight the nuances of a new FAFSA simplification term: “contributors.” Allie and Jill kick things off by running through where things stand with the return to student loan repayment, the on-ramp to repayment, servicer wait times, and the administration’s new income-driven repayment (IDR) plan, the Saving on A Valuable Education (SAVE) repayment plan. David then helps ...
OTC From the Field: All Things SAVE With Under Secretary James Kvaal
September 12, 2023 18:37 - 30 minutes - 20.9 MBThis week on a special episode of “Off The Cuff,” Justin is joined by U.S. Department of Education Under Secretary James Kvaal to discuss the administration's Saving on A Valuable Education (SAVE) repayment plan, a new income-driven repayment (IDR) plan that the administration has been heavily promoting as student loan repayments resume. The conversation dives into the benefits of the plan, the enrollment process, the timeline associated with its implementation, an overview of ED’s student l...
OTC Inside the Beltway: ‘Not the Rosiest Way to Start September’ - Big Questions on Federal Budget Negotiations
September 08, 2023 13:18 - 43 minutes - 29.6 MBThis week on "Off the Cuff," Justin and Karen are joined by Jon Fansmith, the American Council on Education's senior vice president of government relations, to dig into the latest state of play surrounding the federal budgeting process. The team highlights how Congress’ end of September deadline could impact a host of priorities for the Department of Education (ED), including its FAFSA simplification rollout, negotiated rulemaking, and general operations. The group also highlights ED’s new r...
OTC Inside the Beltway: The SCOTUS Recap
July 13, 2023 19:06 - 37 minutes - 25.4 MBThis week on "Off the Cuff," Justin and Rachel are joined by Jon Fansmith, the American Council on Education's senior vice president of government relations, to recap the most recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions that struck down race-conscious admissions policies and the Biden administration's student loan debt cancellation program. The group dives into what impact these decisions will have on college campuses and also provides details as to how schools can make sense of both decisions. The ...
OTC From the Field: NASFAA Conference Preview
June 15, 2023 20:27 - 29 minutes - 20.2 MBThis week on "Off The Cuff," Justin is joined by Dana Kelly, NASFAA's vice president of professional development and institutional compliance, and Kristi Jovell, director of student financial services operations and communications at Middlebury College and NASFAA's 2023 National Conference Program Task Force chair. The group discusses what attendees can expect of the 2023 National Conference in San Diego this month, including what sessions they’re looking forward to and what attendees can do...
OTC AskRegs Experts: Deep Dive on Proposed GE Regs and Removal of Housing Question on FAFSA
June 08, 2023 19:38 - 32 minutes - 22.4 MBThis week on "Off the Cuff," Allie, Jill, and David cover the latest developments concerning the Department of Education’s roll-out of its proposed gainful employment regulations and financial value transparency framework, as well as the removal of the housing status question from the 2024-25 FAFSA. Jill dives into how new GE metrics could impact a variety of schools, as well as what comes next for the negotiated rulemaking process. David shares the impact of the removal of the housing quest...
OTC Inside the Beltway: Wrapping Up the Debt Ceiling and the Latest on Student Loan Debt Cancellation
June 01, 2023 21:52 - 35 minutes - 24.7 MBThis week on "Off the Cuff," Rachel joins Justin and Karen to discuss some breaking news on the Hill concerning the debt ceiling and congressional efforts to overturn President Joe Biden’s student loan debt cancellation plan. The team starts out with a discussion on the Senate passing a Congressional Review Act (CRA) seeking to rescind Biden’s debt cancellation plan and the fallout from the bipartisan vote. Rachel then provides an update on the debt ceiling deal, and how the measure is expec...
OTC AskRegs Experts: Federal Work-Study and Murky COVID Flexibility
May 18, 2023 19:35 - 26 minutes - 17.9 MBThis week on "Off the Cuff," Allie, Jill, and David discuss recent developments related to the Federal Work-Study program and how financial aid professionals can navigate the wind-down of COVID flexibilities. Jill details a recent information collection request from the Department of Education and concerns related to the extent of the collection. David then highlights the murkiness of the end dates of the public health emergency and the general COVID-19 national emergency and in what ways th...
OTC Inside the Beltway: The Debt Ceiling
May 11, 2023 19:38 - 34 minutes - 23.6 MBThis week on "Off The Cuff," Justin and Karen are joined by Jon Fansmith, the American Council on Education's senior vice president of government relations, to discuss the implications of the ongoing negotiations surrounding the debt ceiling and how federal higher education programs could be impacted. The conversation dives into congressional negotiations and how the issue differs from the annual budgeting process. The group then turns to the student loan servicing landscape, the latest on t...
OTC From the Field: Examining the Paying for College Transparency Initiative
May 04, 2023 18:09 - 33 minutes - 23.3 MBThis week on "Off The Cuff," Justin is joined by NASFAA Policy Analyst Megan Walter and Scott Cline, senior vice president of enrollment management and auxiliary services at California College of the Arts. The group discusses the mission and goals of the cand its efforts to improve college financial aid offers. Megan then shares initial responses to the initiative’s drafted principles and standards, glossary, and aid offer examples. NASFAA members can submit their own comments to these docum...
OTC From the Field: A Conversation on Higher Education Policymaking With Rep. Bobby Scott
April 27, 2023 21:12 - 38 minutes - 26.7 MBThis week on a special episode of “Off the Cuff,” Justin is joined by Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), ranking member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a discussion on the latest issues impacting the higher education policymaking landscape. The discussion dives into the Pell Grant program and the prospect of short-term Pell, Scott’s bill aiming to address the student loan system, the rollout of FAFSA simplification, and much more. Justin also spoke with Scott about his educ...
OTC Voices From the Aid Office: Samantha Hicks
April 20, 2023 21:18 - 32 minutes - 22 MBThis week on a special episode of "Off The Cuff," Justin is joined by Samantha Hicks, assistant vice president of financial aid and scholarships at Coastal Carolina University. Sam speaks with Justin about her experience of growing up in poverty and navigating higher education. During the conversation Sam also touched on her career in financial aid, which began back when she was a student worker at Coastal Carolina University. This is our third episode in the Voices series where we'd like to...
OTC Inside the Beltway: Working Through the FAFSA Roadmap and the White House Budget Request
March 30, 2023 20:39 - 41 minutes - 28.5 MBThis week on "Off The Cuff," Justin and Karen are joined by Jon Fansmith, the American Council on Education's senior vice president of government relations, to discuss the road map for the Department of Education’s 2024-25 FAFSA release, and President Joe Biden’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2024-25 and what it means for higher education funding. Jon dives into the main takeaways from the budget proposal, and how the process could unfold in a divided government. Karen then catches listene...
OTC Voices From the Aid Office: Alex DeLonis
March 23, 2023 22:56 - 31 minutes - 21.6 MBThis week on a special episode of "Off The Cuff," Justin is joined by Alex DeLonis, the director of financial aid at Wabash College. Alex speaks with Justin about his experience as a first-generation college student and the issues he dealt with growing up in poverty. Alex then discusses how he began his career in financial aid at Harper College through the Federal Work-Study program to now being a director of financial aid. This is our second episode in the Voices series where we’d like to t...
OTC From the Field: Making Sense of Accountability Metrics in Higher Ed
March 16, 2023 20:38 - 45 minutes - 31.4 MBThis week on a special episode of “Off the Cuff,” Justin is joined by Michael Itzkowitz, the former director of the College Scorecard under the Obama administration, in a wide-ranging discussion focused on data and accountability metrics in higher education. Michael, the founder and president of the Higher Education Advisory Group and a non-resident senior fellow at Public Agenda, goes on to share his insights on varying metrics and outcome data, as well as his thoughts on short-term Pell Gr...
OTC AskRegs Experts: FAFSA Simplification Surveys and Making Sense of Payment Periods
March 09, 2023 22:46 - 26 minutes - 18.5 MBThis week on "Off the Cuff," Allie, Jill, and David discuss highlights from NASFAA’s FAFSA Simplification Implementation Working Group and cover some important details concerning late disbursements and retroactive payments. Jill dives into a pair of recent NASFAA surveys that capture financial aid offices’ preparedness for the impending rollout of FAFSA simplification changes, and also highlights a recent poll digging into the implications of a FAFSA housing question that will no longer be a...
OTC Inside the Beltway: Biden's Student Debt Relief Program Faces SCOTUS
March 02, 2023 22:18 - 44 minutes - 30.6 MBThis week on "Off The Cuff," Justin and Karen are joined by Jon Fansmith, the American Council on Education's senior vice president of government relations, to recap and debrief how President Joe Biden’s student loan cancellation program fared in oral arguments heard by the United States Supreme Court. The group then discusses the Department of Education’s (ED) updated guidance on third-party servicers and the removal of the question on the 2024-25 FAFSA that asks students whether they will ...
OTC AskRegs Experts: Examining New Guidance From ED on Third Party Servicers
February 23, 2023 22:13 - 37 minutes - 26 MBThis week on "Off the Cuff," Justin, Jill, and David discuss updated guidance from the Department of Education (ED) about third party servicers. Jill dives into the guidance, including what concerns institutions should have and what it means to be classified as a third party servicer. She also debriefs the listening sessions ED plans to hold in March on incentive compensation. Additionally, David discusses issues that arise when a student is enrolled in multiple programs at the same institut...
OTC From the Field: A Conversation on Higher Ed Policymaking With Rep. Virginia Foxx
February 16, 2023 21:35 - 50 minutes - 34.3 MBThis week on a special episode of “Off the Cuff,” Justin is joined by Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a conversation that focuses on the policymaking landscape for higher education. The discussion dives into a number of topics including short-term Pell Grant legislation, implementation of FAFSA simplification, oversight on the administration’s higher education policies, and the committee’s higher education agenda for the upco...
OTC Voices From the Aid Office: NASFAA National Chair Brad Barnett
February 09, 2023 17:36 - 39 minutes - 27.1 MBThis week on "Off the Cuff," Justin is joined by NASFAA’s 2022-23 National Chair Brad Barnett, FAAC®, associate vice president for access and enrollment management/director of financial aid and scholarships at James Madison University, to kick off our new Voices From the Aid Office series. The discussion focuses on Brad’s professional and personal background and provides a glimpse into the ways in which his experiences have shaped his commitment to helping students pursue their postsecondary...
OTC Inside the Beltway: What the End of the COVID-19 National Emergency Means For Financial Aid
February 02, 2023 22:50 - 38 minutes - 26.2 MBThis week on "Off The Cuff," Justin and Karen are joined by Jon Fansmith, the American Council on Education's senior vice president of government relations, to discuss new data from the Department of Education on how Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) grants helped students and what President Joe Biden’s decision to end the COVID-19 national emergency means for financial aid. The team also discusses new data from the White House about Biden’s student loan cancellation program, an...
OTC AskRegs Experts: Hey ChatGPT, Can You Draft This Week’s Podcast Title?
January 19, 2023 19:55 - 37 minutes - 25.7 MBThis week on "Off the Cuff," Justin, Jill, and David put the latest artificial intelligence (AI) software to the test and cover the nuance of “unusual circumstances” for FAFSA simplification. Jill kicked things off with a recap of how ChatGPT, a chatbot that can be used for natural dialogue processing, fared in answering a number of financial aid-related questions. David covers the difference between special and unusual circumstances and how it relates to FAFSA simplification. Hugh then caug...
OTC Inside the Beltway: Higher Ed Policymaking Meets Divided Government
January 12, 2023 20:29 - 47 minutes - 32.4 MBThis week on "Off The Cuff," Justin and Karen are joined by Jon Fansmith, the American Council on Education's incoming senior vice president of government relations, to discuss the new Congress’ higher education agenda along with the Department of Education’s regulatory roadmap for 2023. The team kicks things off with a recap of the fiscal year 2023 omnibus, which brought a $500 increase to the maximum Pell Grant award, before moving on to the fallout and implications that the House’s histor...
OTC AskRegs Experts: The National Emergency's Impact on Financial Aid and Upcoming Changes to Professional Judgment
December 14, 2022 21:14 - 33 minutes - 22.7 MBThis week on "Off the Cuff," Justin, Jill, and David discuss how rescinding the national emergency could impact financial aid and how the rollout of FAFSA Simplification will bring about changes to professional judgment. Jill dives into how House Republicans will bring a vote to the floor, once they assume the majority in January, that would rescind the president’s national emergency declaration. David covers updates to professional judgment, which adds criteria around special circumstances ...
OTC Inside the Beltway: Debriefing GAO’s Report on Financial Aid Offers
December 08, 2022 21:11 - 38 minutes - 26.3 MBThis week on "Off The Cuff," Justin and Karen are joined by Jon Fansmith, the American Council on Education's assistant vice president for government relations, to discuss a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on financial aid offers. The report found that many institutions are not providing students clear and standard information in their financial aid offers, often not including or understating the net price, which could confuse students and their families. The discu...
OTC From the Field: One Step Closer to the Metaverse? Let’s Talk About the FSA Virtual Conference
December 01, 2022 21:35 - 42 minutes - 29.4 MBThis week on a special edition of “Off the Cuff” Justin is joined by Karen, Jackie Cottom, NASFAA’s instructional content specialist, and Tony Erwin, FAAC®, Blue Icon’s principal consultant, to break down their impressions of Federal Student Aid’s (FSA) annual training conference. The team highlighted their main takeaways from a number of sessions and impressions of updated guidance coming out of the department on a host of regulatory issues. Plus, the team dives into some outstanding questi...
OTC From the Field: Making Sense of the Midterm Elections and What Comes Next for Higher Ed
November 17, 2022 21:11 - 43 minutes - 30.2 MBThis week on a special episode of “Off The Cuff,” Justin is joined by Lanae Erickson, senior vice president for social policy & politics at Third Way, to sort through the impact that last week’s midterm elections will have on higher education policy for the 118th Congress. Justin and Lanae cover the latest news on leadership dynamics in both chambers and the varying policy debates that will likely take center stage in a divided government, and discuss how the higher education system can best...