Submitted by: Dawn Mosisa and Ginny Zawodny, Co-chairs

Hello fellow Tri-Staters! Well, we certainly can’t say our jobs are boring! There is a lot happening in the financial aid world these days. We said we would do everything to help keep you all informed using every vehicle possible.

There is a very important Tri-State event happening on Monday, October 26, 2009. The Federal Relations Committee has been very hard at work putting together a legislative briefing with Congressional Staff. This event will present an opportunity for those of us in the financial aid community to answer concerns held at the Senate House, and share what we see and hear from our students!

Lastly, HR 3221 SAFRA (Student Aid Financial Recovery Act) was passed in a vote of 30 to 17. What does this mean to you? The bill would eliminate the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) and redirect those savings to increasing the Pell Grant and funding multiple K-12 and post secondary education programs, including the President's proposed American Graduation Initiative which would pump $12 billion into community colleges and add 5 million new graduates by 2020. Several Title IV amendments to the bill were adopted in its final form and they include:

• Retain subsidized Stafford loans for grad/professional students.
• Slightly increase the proposed Stafford interest rate on loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2012, to 2.5 percent (from 2.3 percent) plus the bond equivalent rate of 91-day Treasury bills auctioned at the final auction held prior to such June 1 (Yes, we are back to the T-Bill rate).
• Forgive any federal student loans for members of the military that are borrowed for the term in which they are then called to active duty.
• Allow veterans who attend private colleges in states with a zero or very low basic tuition benefit to shift the unused portion of the maximum fee benefit to help cover costs of the veteran's actual tuition.
• Extend investment in HBCUs for an additional 5 years to 2019 to conform to the rest of the legislation.
• Soften the 90/10 rule by: (1) extending the period July 1, 2012, whereby increased unsubsidized Stafford loan borrowing authorized by ECASLA is treated as non-Title IV revenue; (2) allowing funds from the proposed Direct Perkins Loan program to be treated as non-Title IV revenue until July 1, 2012; (3) allowing three years to come into compliance with 90/10 provisions; (4) and allowing two years of non-compliance before provisional eligibility status.

Thank you all for your support throughout this academic year.