Nasfaa's Off The Cuff Podcast

This 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 goals. In upcoming episodes, we’d like to talk to our members about issues that touch on all facets of our lived experiences and highlight equity in financial aid, impacts of staffing shortages, personal experiences with financial aid as a student, and more. Interested in joining us on a future episode? Be sure to fill out our interest form located in the resources section.

This 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, and the Office of Federal Student Aid’s  annual performance review. Maria then updates listeners on the latest news, including the announcement that Biden will release his budget proposal for the coming fiscal year on March 9.

This 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 caught members up on some of the latest news surrounding student loan debt cancellation, the implementation of a new enrollment management system at the Department of Veterans Affairs, and some legislative action on Capitol Hill.

This 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 historic speaker election will have on higher education policy and the latest announcements concerning the department’s income-driven repayment (IDR) regulations and additional accountability initiatives.

This 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 and unusual circumstances. Maria then shares some recent higher education news, including updates to the ongoing legal challenges to President Joe Biden’s student loan debt relief plan and who could chair the House Education and Labor committee.

This 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 discussion then turned to President Joe Biden’s extension of the pause on student loan repayment and interest accrual and year-end spending. 

This 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 questions for FSA concerning FAFSA simplification implementation and also highlights their general experience with the virtual conference platform. Have a question or general comment about the conference? Be sure to submit them through our feedback form below.

This 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 deliver strong outcomes for students. Lanae also provides listeners with the results of polling on public perception of both political parties and discusses how the student loan portfolio could be complicated by the legal challenges to Biden’s debt cancellation plan.

This week on "Off the Cuff," Justin, Jill, and David discuss the latest news coming out of the Department of Education (ED) with updates on how the department will implement provisions from the FAFSA Simplification Act for the 2023-24 award year and a flurry of final rules that were recently released. Jill dives into how those final rules – borrower defense to repayment, interest capitalization, Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), total and permanent disability discharge, closed school discharge, and false certification – differ from the proposed rules issued in July. David covers updates to the FAFSA simplification rollout and details how financial aid offices will be impacted by changes to cost of attendance, professional judgment, provisional independent student status, and Pell Grant Lifetime Eligibility Used (LEU) restoration on their campuses. Hugh then shares some recent higher education news, including updates on the most recent results of the midterm elections and where things stand on President

This 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 the temporary block on President Joe Biden’s plans for student loan cancellation and what we expect to happen next. The discussion then turned to changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program and the midterm elections. Maria then updates listeners on the latest news, including new data from the College Board about college pricing and student aid, and other legal updates to Biden’s student debt relief plans.

This week on "Off the Cuff," Justin, Jill, and David discuss the rollout of FAFSA simplification provisions and the basics surrounding the administration’s debt cancellation application. Jill details the Department of Education’s (ED) planned delays, as well as an updated timeline for the FAFSA simplification process as outlined in the 2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act, and David runs through a number of questions his team has been seeing since President Joe Biden formally launched the form that borrowers can use to apply for student loan cancellation. Hugh then shares some recent news of FAFSA data and what the Today’s News team will be looking out for as the administration begins to process debt cancellation applications.

This week on "Off The Cuff," Justin, Karen, Megan, and Rachel discuss student loan debt reform recommendations NASFAA made with support from a grant provided by Arnold Ventures. The conversation touches on three main areas, which include how to improve student loan servicing practices, rethinking the terms and conditions of student loan repayment, and reforming student loan default. Maria then updates listeners on the latest news, including a preview of President Joe Biden’s student loan debt relief application and a new Federal Register notice detailing the Biden administration’s authority to carry out the debt relief.

This 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 the Department of Education’s planned rollout of student loan debt cancellation, lawsuits looking to halt the action, and what we expect to happen next. The discussion then turned to what implications the upcoming midterm elections could have on higher education. Hugh then updates listeners on the latest news, including a potential state tax on student loan cancellation and the newly released cohort default rate for fiscal year 2019.

This week on "Off the Cuff," Allie, Jill, and David discuss some congressional activity on student loan reform and field questions surrounding Operation ‘Fresh Start’ as well as some frameworks that financial aid officers can follow. Hugh then shares recent news from the White House and ED related to the Biden administration’s debt cancellation plan, and provides additional details on how student loan reform legislation could be impacted by the upcoming midterm elections.

This week on a special episode of “Off the Cuff,” Justin is joined by Karen and Megan to discuss the Biden administration’s “Fresh Start” initiative that aims to provide a pathway for delinquent and defaulted borrowers to reenter repayment in good standing. The team digs into specific questions they’ve posed to the Department of Education concerning the program’s implementation and provides updates highlighting where things stand today and what details are expected to be clarified in the weeks and months ahead.

This week on a special episode of “Off the Cuff,” Justin is joined by Karen, Rachel, Megan, and Hugh to work through President Joe Biden’s announcement that he is canceling $10,000 in student loan debt for millions of borrowers and extending the pause on payments and interest accrual for federally-held student loans until Dec. 31, 2022. The team goes through the mechanics of the executive action, lays out some public opinion polls, sorts through the initial reactions, and asks a number of implementation questions that are beginning to surface. The team also provides listeners with a number of resources, and details what they will be looking for in terms of pending guidance from the administration.

This week on a special episode of “Off The Cuff,” Justin is joined by Andy Brantley, president and CEO at CUPA-HR, and Anthony Jones, executive director of scholarships and financial aid at the University of Utah, to discuss employee retention within the higher education sector, with a focus on financial aid offices. The group dives into some recent survey data, position classification systems, and also walks through one office’s experience going through the reclassification process. Andy and Anthony also share their expertise with listeners on how to approach annual budgets and office operations.

This week on "Off the Cuff," Justin is joined by NASFAA Senior Policy Analyst Jill Desjean and NASFAA U Instructor David Tolman to discuss regulatory updates from the Department of Education (ED) that directly impact the Pell Grant program and FAFSA guidance. Jill walks members through the latest news concerning updates coming to the FAFSA, impacts of early implementation provisions, as well as what’s coming down the road for the 2024-25 award year. David then provides details on the terminology behind the “Pell Recalculation Date,” and highlights some confusion members have had on the topic. Hugh then shares some recent news from the NASFAA 2022 Virtual Conference and new data indicating that FAFSA completions are on the rise.

This 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 some key takeaways from the NASFAA 2022 National Conference. The team shares their highlights from their time in Austin and discusses their takeaways from NASFAA’s first in-person national conference since 2019. Jon then provides an update on Congress’ summer agenda with details on the annual appropriations process and how higher education programs are faring in congressional negotiations. Karen then dives into some updates from the Department of Education (ED) concerning the negotiated rulemaking process and some developments related to borrower defense. The team then covers how recent Supreme Court actions could reshape the White House’s regulatory authority. Plus, Hugh shares some news coverage from our national conference.

This week in a special edition of “Off The Cuff,” Justin is joined by U.S. Department of Education Under Secretary James Kvaal to discuss the administration's higher education priorities. Kvaal spoke during NASFAA’s 2022 national conference in Austin and provided financial aid administrators with key insight into ED’s approach to addressing a host of challenges imposed by the pandemic. During the conversation, Kvaal answered questions from NASFAA members related to student loan forgiveness and repayment, forthcoming regulations, institutional quality and gainful employment, college affordability, and more.