Operations Bulletin

Education Department Issues Information on Reauthorization Implementation
The U.S. Department of Education has issued initial information on its plans to implement the Higher Education Opportunity Act, signed into law Aug. 14 to reauthorize the Higher Education Act. The Department’s notice indicates that it will issue a Dear Colleague Letter summarizing key provisions of the new law. The notice also outlines the Department’s plans for conducting negotiated rulemaking on certain parts of the new law.

Department Posts Loan Participation Program Presentations
The Department has posted presentations from recent webcasts to assist education lenders in understanding the operational details of the Department’s loan participation program. Presentations from Aug. 1, Aug. 8, Aug. 15 and Aug. 22 webcasts are available. The Department’s Web site offers additional details of the loan purchase and participation programs authorized by emergency student loan access legislation.

Debt-Management Perspectives

Hundreds Learn Link Between Financial Literacy and Retention
More than 800 representatives of the higher education community took part in recent workshops presented by USA Funds^® and Noel-Levitz that reinforced the relationship between financial literacy and retention. Read more.

Tech Talk

USA Funds Loan Comparison: Display of APRs Offers Clearer Picture of Loans
One of the advantages of the interactive online tool USA Funds Loan Comparison is that it shows borrowers the annual percentage rates of education loans, in addition to interest rates. Learn more.