Washington Report

Forum Participants Discuss Student Loan Transition Issues and Alternatives
Participants in a policy forum on “The Future of Student Loans” expressed concerns about legislation mandating that colleges make a change in student loan programs, while other participants discussed alternatives that would avoid such a transition. Read more.

USA Funds Update

Webcasts Explore Upcoming FAFSA Changes
USA Funds^® University’s FAFSA Wednesday webcasts, starting Dec. 2, will explore the changes in store for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid for the current and future processing years. Read more.

Product Enhancements Offer Improved Cohort Monitoring and Added Browser Compatibility
USA Funds has enhanced two of its products, improving monitoring for cohort information in USA Funds Debt Manager^® and adding browser compatibilities in USA Funds Loan Counselor^®. Learn more.

Operations Bulletin

USA Funds Notes New IBR Documentation Policy for Ineligible Loan Claims
The U.S. Department of Education has clarified that it does not consider loans that are ineligible due to borrower error or identity theft to be valid Federal Family Education Loan Program obligations. Based on this clarification, effective immediately, if a lender is filing a claim using the IN or ID (ineligible due to borrower error or identity theft) claim types, USA Funds will not require the lender to include in the claim file any documentation to confirm that the lender sent income-based repayment information to the borrower. For more information, contact USA Funds’ policy advisers.

Tech Talk

User Group Meeting Set for FSA Conference
Mapping Your Future, Meteor and the National Student Clearinghouse are inviting school representatives who use those services to attend a user group meeting at the upcoming Federal Student Aid conference in Nashville, Tenn. Learn more.