Operations Bulletin

ED Publishes Final Regulations on Student Loans, General Provisions and Grant Programs
The U.S. Department of Education published final rules based on the Notices of Proposed Rulemaking on which the student-aid community commented earlier in the year. Read more.

October-2007 Integrated Common Manual Available
The October-2007 Integrated Common Manual is available on the USA Funds^® Web site. View and print the Integrated Common Manual, including the summary of changes approved Oct. 18, 2007, by the Common Manual Governing Board. You will need Adobe Reader to view the updated documents.

Washington Report

House to Tackle Rising College Costs in Reauthorization Bill
The chairman of a U.S. House committee indicates that a forthcoming bill to reauthorize the Higher Education Act will attempt to tackle rising college costs. Read more.

HEA Extension Signed Into Law
On Oct. 31, President Bush signed into law another extension of the authority for key federal student-aid programs under the Higher Education Act. The measure extends until March 31, 2008, the authority for programs under the HEA and revises the definition of nonprofit loan holder for the purposes of determining special-allowance rates.

Debt-Management Perspectives

USA Funds Web Site Can Help Students and Graduates Manage Education Loans
Anne Fischer, a USA Funds debt-management consultant, outlines some resources on that the USA Funds Web site that can help your borrowers manage their education-loan debt. Learn more.

USA Funds Update

Reminder: Register for USA Funds Fall-2007 Education-Lender Forums
Registration remains open for USA Funds Fall-2007 Education-Lender Forums. Sessions will be held 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Nov. 14 in Irvine, Calif., and Nov. 15 in Mesa, Ariz. The forums are offered free of charge to lenders and other interested professionals to help keep them abreast of the latest developments in the ever-changing education-finance marketplace. Learn more and register through the USA Funds University online-learning site.

Tech Talk

USA Funds Continues Support of Mapping Your Future
USA Funds continues its sponsorship of the Mapping Your Future college-planning Web site, with Brian Allison, USA Funds vice president of technology and industry initiatives, joining the initiative’s steering committee. Learn more.