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NASFAA's Off the Cuff Podcast

Hosted 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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Now displaying: October, 2019
Oct 31, 2019

This week on the Halloween episode of “Off The Cuff,” Justin, Allie, Rachel, and Joelle discuss their holiday plans, and Allie spooks the group by almost spoiling a major plot twist in a TV show everyone is in the midst of binge-watching. Rachel and Joelle detail a three-day hearing in which the House Committee on Education and Labor voted to move Democrats' bill to reauthorize the Higher Education Act to the floor for a full vote, and the group delves into the shocking and disappointing amendments that lawmakers introduced. Allie talks about plans from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to potentially allow athletes to benefit from the use of their name or likeness, and what implications that income could have on their eligibility for financial aid. Listen on, and send us your answer to our weekly listener question: What is the most embarrassing way you’ve been injured? Skip to 10:11 to head straight to the policy discussion.

Oct 25, 2019

This week on "Off The Cuff," Justin, Allie, and Rachel discuss a new bipartisan bill introduced this week, which built on feedback from the financial aid community to find a path forward for FAFSA simplification. The team discusses and ins and outs of the bill and its chances for moving through Congress while a full Higher Education Act reauthorization appears unlikely. Plus, Federal Student Aid was in the spotlight late this week as A. Wayne Johnson, formerly the chief operating officer at FSA and currently the Department of Education’s chief strategy and transformation officer, abruptly resigned from his position and announced a run for Senate — on the platform of forgiving a significant amount of student loan debt. Calling the student loan system "fundamentally broken," Johnson's departure stands in contrast to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos's recent appearance on Fox News, in which she said Democratic presidential candidates proposals for debt forgiveness were "crazy." Listen on for more, and send us your answer to our weekly listener question: What topic could you give a 20-minute presentation on with no preparation?

Oct 17, 2019

This week on "Off The Cuff," Justin, Allie, Jill, and Rachel cover the ins and outs of the newly-released College Affordability Act (CAA), the House Democrats' bill to reauthorize the Higher Education Act. Jill walks the team through all the major proposed changes to Title IV aid programs, while Justin and Rachel discuss the bill's potential to move through Congress, and Allie gives an overview of reactions to the proposals. The team also discusses reported plans for Federal Student Aid to reorganize and expand its staff, as well as commentary from a well-known financial guru who recently encouraged students to pick a college they can afford — rather than shooting for their "dream school." Plus, the team wants to know: What would you do differently if no one was judging you?

Oct 10, 2019

This week on "Off The Cuff," Justin, Erin, and Allie dive into former Vice President Joe Biden's higher education platform, which proposes among other things doubling the maximum Pell Grant award, overhauling income-driven repayment, and restructuring the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Justin discusses news that a federal judge weighed publicly the idea of taking action against Education Secretary Betsy DeVos through sanctions or holding her in contempt for violating a previous court order to halt debt collection on former Corinthian Colleges students. Allie gives an overview of the latest quarterly data from Federal Student Aid, which showed the processing of borrower defense claims remained at a standstill as of June, and Erin examines the findings from an American Enterprise Institute report that claims loan servicers may not be entirely at fault when it comes to complaints filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Plus, the team wants to know: Do you have favorite kitchen items (like a "bacon plate" or "potato drawer") that you use only for specific purposes? Skip to 7:10 to get straight to member feedback and the policy discussion.

Oct 3, 2019

This week on “Off The Cuff,” Justin, Erin, Rachel, and Joelle jump into the text of a scaled-back Higher Education Act (HEA) reauthorization bill and how it aligns with NASFAA’s priorities. Justin discusses recent changes to the National Association for College Admission Counseling’s (NACAC) code of conduct that would change the way institutions compete for students, and Joelle catches the group up on the latest developments in a case climbing through the courts involving Harvard’s affirmative action policy. Erin talks about a slew of student debt relief scams plaguing borrowers, and the team delves into a story about a woman who got married at 19 to change her dependency status on the FAFSA. Plus, the group poses a new listener question: If you could instantly become an expert in something, what would it be? Skip to 8:40 to get straight to the policy discussion.

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