This week on “Off The Cuff,” Justin is joined by Dr. Sandy Baum, a nonresident senior fellow for the Center on Education Data and Policy at the Urban Institute, as they discuss higher education priorities and how in a world of limited resources the federal government can best allocate and target spending. The conversation touches on free community college, debt forgiveness, doubling the Pell Grant, and dives into which of these investments could have the biggest impact on students. Justin and Sandy also cover topical higher education news like recent issues surrounding institutional accountability, student loan repayment plans, and more. Hugh then provides an update on some of the biggest financial aid news on the student loan portfolio, remarks from Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, and highlights profiles of our latest Diversity Leadership Program class.

This week on "Off The Cuff," Justin is joined by NASFAA Senior Policy Analyst Jill Desjean and NASFAA U Instructor David Tolman, who give listeners an update on a number of regulatory issues. Jill and David provide insight on some questions from NASFAA members concerning the HEERF annual reporting form, regulatory assistance issues concerning institutions packaging  students for 2022-23 award year, setting costs of attendance, and preparations for tuition and assistance for the upcoming academic year. Hugh then provides a quick recap on some of the biggest higher education news of the week, with highlights from the Department of Education’s ongoing negotiated rulemaking sessions, updates on issues concerning the student loan portfolio, higher education enrollment trends, and more.

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 dive into their predictions concerning higher education’s political landscape for 2022. The group covers Build Back Better’s pathway, congressional dynamics on spending bills, the pandemic’s continued impact on higher education, the potential wind-down of the federal student loan moratorium, and more. Hugh also provides an update on congressional Republicans’ efforts to question the Department of Education on its usage of temporary waivers for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, a recap of NASFAA’s article detailing financial aid staffing shortages, as well as a quick resource update on next week’s negotiated rulemaking session.

This week on "Off The Cuff," Justin is joined by NASFAA’s 2021-22 National Chair Brent Tener and Beth Maglione, NASFAA’s executive vice president. The three dive into conversation surrounding professional experience, NASFAA’s operations, and experiences working with a variety of higher education institutions. The discussion also centers on the most current higher education news, student aid operations, a number of federal policies impacting financial aid, and how the long-lasting impacts of the pandemic are shaping the sector. Hugh also provides a recap of the latest higher education news this week with some handy resources for subscribers to catch up on some of the biggest news stories from 2021.