Higher Ed Policy Roundup: Vol. 7 - Issue 8

On Monday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a cost estimate of the Biden-Harris Administration’s proposed income-driven repayment plan in response to a request from House Education and the Workforce Committee Chair Virginia Foxx (R-NC-5) and Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Ranking Member Bill Cassidy (R-LA). Recall that the Education Department (ED) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking making several changes that will reduce the cost of federal student loan repayment plans for borrowers. According to the CBO cost estimate, if the final rule goes into effect, it will cost an additional $230 billion over a 10-year period.

This week, ED announced that the Office of Federal Student Aid will utilize ‘secret shoppers’ to monitor schools’ compliance with Title IV federal student aid programs. These individuals will be looking for misrepresentations regarding things such as transferability of credits, job placement rates, completion and withdrawal rates, graduates’ future earning potential, career services, cost of attendance, and accreditation status.

The new simplified Free Application for Federal Student Aid leaves many with more questions than answers.

States consider expanding student loan forgiveness as the Supreme Court considers Biden’s nationwide plan.

There were no relevant student-aid related bills recently introduced for consideration by the 118th Congress (2023-2024).