This week on "Off The Cuff," Justin, Megan, Stephen, and Allie come to you in a live recording from NASFAA's 2018 National Conference in Austin. For the second year in a row, the "Off The Cuff" team gathered at the National Conference to give attendees a "behind the scenes" look at what goes into creating the podcast each week. Tune in for an episode full of games, trivia (thanks to Trellis Company), and a special announcement of a brand new podcast launching this fall.

This week, in an extended episode of "Off The Cuff," Justin and Megan are joined by New America's Rachel Fishman and uAspire's Laura Keane to discuss their recent research on challenges with the formatting of financial aid award letters. Rachel and Laura give a high-level description of their research, what they found, and recommendations for how institutions can make award letters more digestible for students and parents. Meanwhile, Justin and Megan share some insights from NASFAA's own research on consumer information and award letters, and how stakeholders from all sides — including students, institutions, software providers, and more — must work together to establish best practices. Next week's episode will be a live recording from NASFAA's 2018 National Conference — we hope to see you all in Austin!

This week on "Off The Cuff," the full team reunites to share some exciting details of what to expect at the upcoming 2018 NASFAA National Conference in Austin. Justin, Megan, and Stephen explain the latest developments on whether the House Republicans' PROSPER Act will come to the floor for a vote by the full chamber. Stephen gives an update on the status of lawmakers' progress on fiscal year 2019 spending, and Allie shares how Google is trying to make a mark in higher education. Plus, hear why Megan is a little nervous to ride the metro lately, and the furry creature that captured America's — and NASFAA's — heart this week.

This week on "Off The Cuff," Megan and Allie discuss the declining chances that Congress will reauthorize the Higher Education Act this year, after Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) made comments last week suggesting Democrats are unwilling to cooperate. Meanwhile, Allie gives a recap of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos's recent defense of the Department of Education's fiscal year 2019 budget proposal, and Megan dives into whether a recent court ruling could be delaying the release of proposed rules for borrower defense. Plus, Megan and Allie share which special guest will be joining the podcast in two weeks.