This week on “Off The Cuff,” Justin, Megan, Rachel, and Allie pick the final winner of NASFAA’s activity challenge before discussing a new and lengthy list of Higher Education Act (HEA) reauthorization recommendations from a bipartisan group of lawmakers. At 11:51, Allie dives into a push to regulate the National Student Clearinghouse, and at 17:32 Megan talks about a bill passed by the House to treat private and federal student loans similar when it comes to refinancing. At 21:10, Justin details a new case for discharging student loans in bankruptcy, followed by Allie discussing a new form consolidating the applications for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program and the temporary program created to assist borrowers rejected for PSLF, as well as breaking news about experimenting with Pell Grants for prisoners. Plus, don’t forget to post on social media beginning next week in celebration of Financial Aid Awareness Month — using the hashtag #FinAidFeb — for the chance to be featured on the podcast or in Today’s News.

This week on “Off The Cuff,” Justin, Megan, Rachel, and Allie pick a winner of NASFAA’s activity challenge before diving into an article from Today’s News about whether institutions need a signed statement to update degree level on the FAFSA. At 13:26, NASFAA’s AskRegs Manager David Futrell joins to group to discuss guidance from the Department of Education and detail NASFAA’s efforts on the issue. At 18:31, Rachel talks about new cost predictions for the Democrats’ bill to reauthorize the Higher Education Act, and at 23:38 Megan delves into a lawsuit teachers are bringing against Education Secretary Betsy DeVos for rescinding gainful employment regulations. At 26:27, Allie discusses presidential hopeful Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s (D-Minn.) peculiar plan for her first 100 days in office, and the group wants to know: When did you begin to feel like you made the transition into adulthood? Plus, don’t forget to demonstrate on social media how you are getting moving for NASFAA’s activity challenge.

This week on “Off The Cuff,” Justin, Megan, Jill, and Allie pick a winner from last week’s activity challenge before diving into presidential hopeful Sen. Elizabeth Warren's (D-Mass.) newest plan for canceling student debt, which would bypass Congress to forgive the loans of 95% of borrowers. At 5:51, Jill discusses the implications of Warren’s proposal, and at 15:52 Justin delves into a recent study about massive debt forgiveness and its potentially positive impact on the economy. At 19:53, the team unpacks different proposals for national free college mentioned during the most recent Democratic presidential debate, and at 25:07 Megan talks about forward movement in the House to pass a resolution to block the Trump administration’s rewritten borrower defense regulations. Plus, the group asks its listeners to share their latest and greatest life hacks and to demonstrate on social media how they are getting moving this week for the chance to win a prize next week for NASFAA’s activity challenge.

This week on “Off The Cuff,” Justin, Megan, Rachel, and Allie delve into funding for financial aid programs included in the fiscal year 2020 budget that passed late last month. At 10:36, Rachel discusses provisions that both excited and surprised the higher education community, such as one to allow students to pay down their student debt using money from their 529 savings accounts. At 14:57, Megan talks about confusion that erupted on Twitter as some questioned whether filing the FAFSA would put them at risk to be drafted into the military, and at 17:59 Allie breaks down new data coming out of the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) on outstanding student loan debt and its progress reviewing applications for borrower defense and Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). Plus, to kick off the new year, the “Off The Cuff” team is inviting its listeners to participate in a three-week fitness challenge for the chance to win awesome podcast swag — check out the workout schedule in the show notes for more details.