This article is the third of a three-part series based on the book, "Basic Guide to Financial Aid," which recently won NASFAA's Robert P. Huff Golden Quill Award. The contents within are adapted from the publication, with additional emphasis on the impact federal student aid administration has on non-financial aid professionals in higher…

Over the past two decades, the practice of tuition discounting has become commonplace, and the discount percentage has steadily increased since 2008. This study replicates the work executed by Juliana Browning in 2013. This study focuses on the sustainability and viability of Title IV participating, private, four-year, not for profit, degree…

Veterans' educational assistance programs provide benefits or services to eligible service members and veterans and their family members, as applicable, to help such individuals pursue education or training. The GI Bills provide financial assistance while recipients are enrolled in approved education or training programs. Eligibility is based on a…

The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, specifies a loan origination fee of 1 percent for all Direct Subsidized Loans and Direct Unsubsidized Loans, and a fee of 4 percent for all Direct PLUS Loans for both parent borrowers and graduate and professional student borrowers. Student loan origination fees, the hidden student loan tax, generated…

The Federal Pell Grant program, authorized by Title IV-A-1 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, (HEA; P.L. 89-329), as amended, is the single largest source of federal grant aid supporting postsecondary education students. The program provided approximately $31 billion in aid to approximately 6.5 million undergraduate students in FY2023. Pell…

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Simplification Act made several changes to the FAFSA, including changing the formula for determining student financial assistance need and simplifying the application. The rollout of the redesigned 2024-2025 FAFSA application encountered issues that affected students' ability to apply for aid.…

National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators' (NASFAA's) National Student Aid Profile is an annual publication designed to give a high-level overview of the federal student financial aid programs that provide funding to millions of students each year. This profile includes an overview of: (1) The Federal Pell Grant Program; (2) The…

National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators' (NASFAA's) National Student Aid Profile is an annual publication designed to give a high-level overview of the federal student financial aid programs that provide funding to millions of students each year. This profile includes an overview of: (1) The Federal Pell Grant Program; (2) The…

Title IV of the Higher Education Act (HEA; P.L. 89-329), as amended, authorizes programs that provide financial assistance to students to pursue postsecondary education at eligible institutions of higher education (IHEs). In academic year (AY) 2022-2023 (July 1, 2022-June 30, 2023), 5,918 domestic institutions had written agreements with the U.S.…

This brief analyzes changes the House Committee on Education and the Workforce proposed to the income-driven repayment (IDR) plans for federal student loans under the fiscal year 2025 budget reconciliation process. The bill was approved in committee in April 2025. If enacted, it would replace existing IDR plans with a new plan (the Repayment…

Congress enacted section 117 of the Higher Education Act, as amended, (Section 117) mandating financial transparency of institutions of higher education (institution) through required reporting of gifts from and contracts with a foreign source. Applicable institutions must file a disclosure report by one of the two annual reporting deadlines,…

Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA; P.L. 89-329, as amended) authorizes the primary sources of federal aid to support postsecondary education students. Title IV programs made over $118 billion in aid available to postsecondary students in FY2020 through Direct Loans and other forms of aid, including $27 billion in Pell Grants. The…

The Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA; P.L. 89-329, as amended), authorizes numerous federal aid programs that provide support to both individuals pursuing a postsecondary education and institutions of higher education (IHEs). The FAFSA Simplification Act (FSA; Title VII, Division FF of P.L. 116-260) makes significant changes to the underlying…

Congress determined that because military service in Iraq and Afghanistan following September 11, 2001, was particularly challenging, servicemembers from that era deserved a veterans educational assistance program more robust than those otherwise available at the time. The Post-9/11 GI Bill was designed to provide more generous benefits than the…

Florida College System (FCS) institutions are among the nation's best public colleges. They provide open access to higher education and provide the primary access point to undergraduate education for many Floridians, including recent high school graduates and returning adult students. The 28 member colleges respond quickly and efficiently to meet…