Debt-Management Perspectives

Spotlight on the Value of Guarantor Services: Loan Counseling
USA Funds^® offers an array of products and services that help schools counsel students about their responsibilities as education loan borrowers. The University of Notre Dame turns to USA Funds’ group loan counseling materials to assist its students. Learn more.

USA Funds Update

Changing Demographics Focus of USA Funds-Sponsored Education Conference
More than 400 educators recently attended the USA Funds-supported Indiana Black Expo statewide educational conference, where they learned how to effectively work with students of all ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds. Read more.

USA Funds Staff Profile: Looking at All the Angles
Careful examination of cases from a variety of perspectives guides Susan Grosvenor’s work investigating reports of potential problems with education loan guarantees. Read more.

Operations Bulletin

Department Publishes Proposed Rules on ‘General and Non-Loan Issues’
The U.S. Department of Education has published proposed regulations on a variety of student aid and other higher education-related issues enacted as part of the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008. The provisions — ranging from year-round Pell Grants to proprietary school requirements for meeting the 90/10 rule to consumer information for students — were the subject of unsuccessful negotiated rulemaking this spring. Comments on the proposed regulations are due to the Department by Sept. 21. You will need Adobe Reader to access the proposed regulations.

Department Announces Revisions to FSA Handbook
The U.S. Department of Education announced recent changes to the 2009-2010 Federal Student Aid Handbook. The updates affect language regarding overawards, overpayments and withdrawal calculations as well as processing aid and managing Federal Student Aid funds. View the complete group of 2009-2010 FSA Handbook volumes that the Department has released so far.