Higher Ed Policy Roundup: Vol. 5 - Issue 51

Richard Cordray, the head of the Office of Federal Student Aid, released a proposal outlining the Education Department’s (ED) plan to overhaul the way federal student loan payments are collected and managed. Instead of hiring multiple contractors to build a single loan servicing platform like the Trump administration proposed, ED plans to award contracts to multiple servicers who will be responsible for managing their own individual portfolios.  Eventually, borrowers will be able to log into a payment portal on StudentAid.gov using their FSA ID, to drive borrowers to a single ED-branded website to reduce confusion stemming from a multiple servicer environment. ED expects this functionality to be available within five years.

Last week, the Internal Revenue Service announced updates to its frequently asked questions regarding Higher Education Emergency Grants. The two new updated questions cover issues relating to how institutions and students are to report their emergency financial aid grants for tax purposes. The updated questions can be found here.

Student loan scams are on the rise as the pause on payments is due to expire

Pressure grows on Biden administration to change student loan bankruptcy rules.

There were no relevant student-aid related bills recently introduced for consideration by the 117th Congress (2021-2022).