Student Loan Blog : legislation

Survey Shows New England Families Can Still Access Federal Student Loans, Despite Loss of Lenders

Student Loan Girl — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 22:29:00 GMT

According to a regional survey of financial aid officers from 214 New England colleges and universities, students and parents have had few problems accessing federal student loans this year, but financial aid administrators have lingering doubts about how easily students will be able to secure college loans next year (“Student Loan Availability Survey of New England Colleges & Universities,” The New England Council, September 2008).

The survey, conducted by the New England Board of Higher Education and The New England Council, asked financial aid officers to describe how New England families fared following federal legislation that Congress passed in May to help families pay for college.

The legislation was designed to ensure that families still have access to federal student loans as private, third-party lenders — crippled by fallout from the subprime mortgage crisis that dried up traditional sources of funding and hurt by legislation that cut $21 billion in their federal subsidies — continue to drop their federal student loan programs.

To date, 104 of these lenders have stopped participating in the Federal Family Education Loan Program, through which borrowers take out their federal student and parent loans from third-party lenders rather than through the federal government.

Although some families were forced to find a new student loan provider after their former lender suspended its federal student loan programs, New England financial aid officers indicated that borrowers have not been deterred from seeking FFELP loans.

In fact, the survey revealed, more parent borrowers are seeking federal PLUS loans through FFELP lenders this fall and more students are taking out unsubsidized federal Stafford student loans.

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California Legislators Act to Block Administrators From Censoring College Publications

Student Loan Girl — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 00:34:00 GMT

In a move that may soon further the free-speech rights of students writing for the state’s college newspapers, California legislators passed a bill on August 5 that would make it unlawful for school administrators to retaliate against college newspaper advisors, reports the San Francisco Chronicle (“Calif. Bill Protects Student Journalism Teachers,” Aug. 5, 2008).

If signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the bill, sponsored by Democratic state Sen. Leland Yee, would prohibit the dismissal, transfer, or disciplining of college or high school journalism teachers who are attempting to protect the free-speech rights of their students.

Journalism teachers have been punished at least 12 times since 2001 as a result of opinion pieces or stories written by student reporters, according to the California Newspaper Publishers Association.

The new bill comes two years after Gov. Schwarzenegger signed anti-censorship legislation into law, granting student reporters free-speech protections comparable to those held by professional journalists. The so-called “Hosty bill” came in response to a 2005 federal ruling by the 7^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that gave university officials the same authority as high school administrators to review and censor student publications.

Although the University of California had originally taken the position that it probably wouldn’t adopt the provisions of the newly passed bill, administrators for the state school system have since reconsidered after further discussions with lawmakers.

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Concerns About Access to Student Loans Persist, Study Finds

Student Loan Girl — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 18:42:00 GMT

Some financial aid administrators have lingering concerns that students may not be able to get the student loans they need to pay for college this year despite recently passed federal legislation designed to improve students’ access to those loans, according to a recent survey.

The survey, released this week by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, showed that NASFAA members who participated in the survey felt that the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act, HR 5715, may help to alleviate a student loan shortage in the short-term but that a long-term solution is still needed.

More than half of the financial aid administrators who responded to the survey said they had been dropped by at least one lender in the Federal Family Education Loan Program, even though that same lender is still offering student loans to other institutions. Several lenders in the FFEL program announced last spring that they would stop offering student loans to colleges with high default rates, low loan volumes, or both — a practice that 60 percent of the NASFAA members who responded to the survey say is discriminatory and should be prohibited by Congress.

Survey participants were split over the issue of private student loans, which are not backed by the federal government. About half said they thought students would have a more difficult time obtaining private student loans this year but most agreed that the private student loan market has stabilized.

The survey, however, revealed that only a quarter of financial aid administrators have a backup plan in place to handle any problems should the federal and private student loan markets face further disruptions.

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Multi-State Agreement on Education of Children of the Military Becomes Law

Student Loan Girl — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 03:18:00 GMT

New legislation recently signed by Delaware governor Ruth Ann Minner intends to ease the transition of school-age children whose military parents transfer from assignment to assignment over the course of their careers, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Defense (“Military Child Education Agreement Now in Effect,” July 11, 2008).

Military families move about three times as often as their civilian counterparts, causing challenges for schools when administrators need to transfer student records or make decisions regarding course placement, test-taking, and graduation requirements.

Approximately 1.5 million children will be affected by the legislation — the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children — which seeks to create uniform education standards across participating states and to address common problems experienced by the children of frequently uprooted military families.

As the tenth state to adopt the compact, Delaware has now made the legislation active for the nine states that have already signed on: Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, and Oklahoma. The bill will also be active in any other states that subsequently sign the compact.

“We are so pleased that the compact, once a vision, will now be a reality for our military families. We are grateful to the 10 states that led the nation in seeking uniform standards for school transition for military children,” said Leslye Arsht, deputy under secretary of defense for military community and family policy.

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Congress Joins States and Colleges in Efforts to Reduce Soaring Textbook Costs

Student Loan Girl — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 07:09:00 GMT

With the average college student now shelling out between $900 and $1,000 each year for textbooks and supplies, according to the College Board’s latest Trends in College Pricing report, schools, states, and now Congress are getting involved in the crusade to control the spiraling costs of college textbooks.

Propelled by studies that show the prices of textbooks are rising faster than the rate of inflation, the House of Representatives included provisions in the recently approved College Opportunity and Affordability Act that are specifically targeted at making textbook costs more manageable, reports Elia Powers of Inside Higher Ed (“Different Tacks on Textbook Choice,” Feb. 19, 2008).

The House bill (H.R. 4137), which passed the House on February 7 and renews the Higher Education Act, would have colleges provide advance information in their course schedules about required books to give students time to plan for expenses and comparison-shop for the most cost-effective options.

Also approved by the House was an amendment (H.AMDT.951) proposed by Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio that would create a pilot competitive grant program to assist a select number of colleges in setting up textbook rental programs.

States Enacting Their Own Textbook Legislation

H.R. 4137 would also require textbook publishers to provide more information about pricing and changes from previous editions, which follows bills already passed by some state legislatures, writes Powers.

Last April, for example, Washington state House Bill 2300 was signed into law, requiring textbook publishers to disclose retail prices and a history of revisions from edition to edition when presenting any materials to faculty.

In June, Oregon passed its similar Senate Bill 365 into law. In addition to charging publishers with providing retail prices and a list of all previous versions of a text to potential adopters, the Oregon measure requires publishers of textbook “bundles” (textbooks packaged with an accompanying CD-ROM or study guide, for instance) to make each component of the bundle available to students separately and to disclose the retail price of each piece.

In California, Assembly Bill 1548, known as the College Textbook Transparency Act, likewise calls for publishers to provide a list of revisions made to new editions, as well as for college bookstores to release the wholesale prices of textbooks. The California bill was signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in October and goes into effect in 2010.

Changes at the College Level

In response to the increasingly vocal concerns of students, families, and legislators, not all schools are waiting on Congress or state officials to adopt changes to textbook pricing and marketing practices. Some schools, writes Powers, have already instituted book rental, buyback, or other programs in a move to extend textbook affordability.

At Rio Salado College in Arizona, for example, a partnership with Pearson Custom Publishing allows professors to “build” custom textbooks, drawing material from multiple sources. Administrators believe this program could save students up to 50 percent on reading materials.

The University of Virginia, in addition to expanding its textbook rental and guaranteed buyback programs, is increasing its selection of e-books, which can save students as much as 30 percent over print versions of new editions. And a growing number of U.Va. professors are choosing to purchase older editions of books in cases where the new material isn’t a necessity, a move the university says cuts an average of 75 percent off new book prices.

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NextStudent Web Marketing Team Shifts Direction of Student Loan Blog

Student Loan Girl — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 16:02:00 GMT

To better serve you and carry out our mission of being your one-stop destination for all your education financing needs, the NextStudent Web Marketing team is moving our Student Loan Blog in a whole new direction.

In the days ahead, you’ll see the Student Loan Blog shifting from a focus on general-interest news and trends to what’s happening in the world of financial aid, student loans, and the congressional legislation that affects you and how you’ll be able to pay for school.

You’ll still be able to find the college advice, smart shopping tips, and lowdown on student life we’ve been bringing you — we’re just moving things around a little bit.

Keeping You Up-to-Date on Financial Aid and Your College Financing Options

Our news-savvy writers on the NextStudent Web Marketing team will be scanning the latest headlines to keep you informed about the legislation changes that could affect your education and the financial aid options that help you pay for school.

We’ll let you know about schools that are trying to make a higher education more affordable, from offering free tuition to low- and middle-income students to eliminating student loans from their financial aid packages.

We know you’re busy and have a million things battling for your time. That’s why we’re making our blogs shorter and more direct, so you can get the news you need faster.

The NextStudent Web Marketing team is committed to helping you make informed decisions about your education through our revamped college-related blogs.

Student Life and Your Pop Culture Fix

But if you think you’ll miss our old stuff, don’t worry. You’ll still be able to find our stories about things like death by popcorn and the short life spans of rock stars.

These blogs will be going on our sister site, The Students Blog, which focuses on college life and technology. Read about how to pimp out your Firefox browser, five free online tools to help you cite your research papers, or the six college dropouts who made millions.

You can also check out our NextPath online newsletter for tips on everything from traveling the world rent-free to buying a digital camera.

So sit back and enjoy the work of our Web Marketing writers who spend hours trolling the Internet to bring you the trends and stories that are fresh and new.

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