USA Funds Update
USA Funds Sponsors FAFSA-Filing Assistance in Nine States
USA Funds® is providing support to programs in nine states and the District of Columbia to help parents and their college-bound children complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Learn more.
USA Funds’ Default-Recovery Efforts Help Taxpayers and Borrowers
USA Funds’ default-recovery activities benefited both student-loan borrowers and federal taxpayers during 2005. Read more.
High-School Students in the Hawaiian Islands Attend Financial-Aid Workshops
With support from USA Funds, the Pacific Financial Aid Association is hosting 24 Financial-Aid Nights for high-school students. Read more.
USA Funds Will Offer Four-Ply, Laser-Printed Stafford MPNs
Effective Feb. 1, 2006, USA Funds will replace the four-ply continuous-feed Stafford-loan Master Promissory Notes on its online order form with a four-ply, laser-printed Stafford MPN. Read more.
Washington Report
Additional Federal Help Available for Hurricane-Affected Schools
U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced the availability of an additional $30 million in federal funds to help postsecondary schools affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The funding, which adds to $200 million previously appropriated by Congress, will assist schools directly affected by the hurricanes, as well as those that enrolled displaced students. To access the Jan. 18, 2006, announcement and other guidance about the 2005 hurricanes’ impact on financial aid, visit the USA Funds Hurricane-Relief Information page.
Debt-Management Perspectives
Sticking to a Time Line Aids Graduate- and Professional-Student Success
For graduate and professional students, charting a time line for their programs of study is a good way to begin planning for successful program completion. The USA Funds Life Skills® financial-literacy program offers suggestions to share with students for charting a path of progress — and sticking to it. Read more.
Tech Talk
Department Approves Use of Real-Time Data for Loan Updates
Schools now can rely on information accessed directly from a loan holder’s database as documentation that a loan previously reported through the National Student Loan Data System as being in default no longer is in default or no longer affects a borrower’s eligibility for federal student aid. This announcement, presented by the U.S. Department of Education at its recent Electronic Access Conferences, opens the door for institutions to accept data from the Meteor Network as a source of loan-update information. Read the announcement from Meteor. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the document.