1. Washington Update Ohio Bursars Association Spring Conference Cincinnati April 5, 2019
Bryan Dickson Assistant Director, Advocacy & Student Financial Services NACUBO

2. For 116th Congress: Democrats control the House with almost a 40-seat margin
Partisan makeup of the House compared to the previous Congress
2018 U.S. House election results map
Seats flipped R to D (Total: 42)
Seats flipped D to R (Total: 3)
Not yet called (color outline is incumbent’s party)
■ Republican won ■ Democrat won ■ Election not yet called
Role
Member
Speaker of the House
Nancy Pelosi (D)
Majority leader
Steny Hoyer (D)
Majority whip
Jim Clyburn (D)
Minority leader
Kevin McCarthy (R)
Minority whip
Steve Scalise (R)

3. For 116th Congress: Republicans have expanded their Senate majority by three seats
Composition of the 116th Senate map
Seats flipped R to D (Total: 2)
Seats flipped D to R (Total: 4)
■ 2 Democrats (19) ■ 2 Republicans (22)
■ 1 Democrat + 1 Republican (9) ** * *
***
*Sens. King (I-ME) and Sanders (I-VT) caucus with the Democrats
**In MN, both Democratic candidates won
***In MS, Wicker (R) won reelection and Hyde-Smith (R) won reelection in a runoff
115th
116th
Republican 51 53
Democrat* 49 47
Not yet called
*Independents Sanders and King, who caucus with the Democrats, have been included in the Democratic tally

4. 2019 On Capitol Hill Other Pressure Points
Debt Limit
Admissions scandal
Sequestration
College costs and student debt
FY20, FY21
Campus free speech
HEA Reauthorization
Revenue
Cybersecurity, data privacy
State budgets
Tuition pressure
Executive and Judicial Branch
Charitable giving
Title IX (campus sexual assault)
Accreditation and program integrity
Affirmative Action
Immigration, DACA

5. Congressional Budget Process
February*
March – April*
May – September 30*
Senate passes
budget resolution
Senate passes appropriations bills
President releases budget request S
Appropriations subcommittees draft bills
Conference committees resolve differences
Senate Bills X
Combined X H
x12
Subcommittees
House Bills
Congress passes combined budget
Resolution
Any unfinished appropriations bills combined into omnibus bill X
House passes
budget resolution
House passes appropriations bills
*Denotes the pace of the process under “regular order”
Sources: Congress.gov

6. Department of Education
Discretionary budget authority
■ President’s Request ■ Enacted
BILLIONS OF US DOLLARS
*FY2017 request is based on President Obama’s FY2017 request
**FY2018 enacted is based on the current Continuing Resolution
Sources: President Trump's FY2020 and 2019 Budget Requests
March 19, | Alice Johnson

7. President’s FY20 Requests
Maximum Pell Grant award of $6,195
Eliminate the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG) program
Significantly cut Federal Work Study from $1.1 billion to $500 million.
Proposes a consolidation of five income-driven loan repayment plans into one plan which would set monthly payments at 12.5 percent of discretionary income and eliminate the standard repayment cap.
Undergraduate borrowers would be eligible for forgiveness after 15 years while graduate students would be eligible after 30 years of repayment.

8. Higher Ed Community Requests
The Pell Grant maximum should be increased to at least $6,345, and the appropriate level should be $6,655.
Had the Pell Grant maximum award simply kept pace with inflation from FY1975 (the first year the program served the majority of undergraduates) the award level would be $6,655 in FY20.
Campus-Based Aid
SEOG, $1.028 billion
Federal Work-Study, $1.434 billion.

9. Higher Education Act Reauthorization
Last reauthorized in 2008
Authorizes Title IV Federal Student Aid programs
PROSPER Act introduced
Whitepapers
Aim Higher Act introduced
2018 Elections
More Hearings
Risk sharing remains popular

10. Reauthorization on The Hill
House Republicans’ Plan (PROSPER ACT)
Promote Innovation, Access, and Completion
Simplify and Improve Student Aid
Empower Students to Make Informed Decisions
Ensure Accountability; Limited Federal Role
House Democrats’ Response (Aim Higher Act)
Improve Access
Make College More Affordable
Increase Completion

11. The White House’s Take on HEA
Accreditation
Increase innovation
Align education to the needs of today’s workforce
Increase institutional accountability
Accelerate program completion
Support HBCUs
Encourage responsible borrowing; simplify aid
Support returning citizens

12. Aid Like a Paycheck
Core Concern Paying students all of their aid in the beginning of a term makes it difficult for them to budget and control spending.
Credit balance refunds would be paid to students in equal monthly or weekly installments
May be unequal to adjust for varying costs, such as upfront charges for tuition and fees
First installment may be paid as early as 30 days before first day of classes
Must be paid no later than 30 days after the start of classes
Details unclear

13. Return of Title IV Funds
Aid earned by quarter of term
School returns unearned aid based on total disbursed, regardless of credit balance refunds
School may only recover 10% of amount returned from student
If student completes at least one modular course in term, not treated as withdrawal

14. At the Department of Education
Negotiated rulemaking
Title IX
Borrower defense
SFA Audits: new requirement?
Perkins
Cash management
Payment vehicle

15. Perkins Loan Program Expired (still) Great example of “risk sharing”
COHEAO’s efforts
NACUBO Perkins Wind-down Guidance

16. Reminder: Cash Management Rules
Some rules apply to all schools. Others to schools with certain arrangements with other entities
Tier 1: With a 3rd party servicer processing Title IV aid and offers financial account (or markets account from another entity)
Tier 2: With a bank where accounts are offered and marketed directly to students
If you have a T1 or T2 arrangement…
Develop due diligence process to ensure appropriate fees
Disclose entire contract on your website and to ED
List features/fees in selection menu
Disclose monetary/non-monetary consideration received
Disclose contract date (# of students, mean/median fees) on ED’s website
Among other things...
See NACUBO summary:

17. FSA Payment Vehicle
Part of FSA’s myStudentAid mobile app. Students can:
Browse potential schools
Complete FAFSA
Explore aid options
Manage/pay loans
Customer service
Online account with great terms; no fees

18. Let’s talk for a minute….
IRS Form 1098-T
Let’s talk for a minute….

19. Federal Education Tax Credits
American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC)
Up to $2,500
100 percent of the first $2,000 you spend on qualifying education expenses plus 25 percent of the next $2,000 you spend for a total possible credit of $2,500.
Up to $1,000 can be refunded
Lifetime Learning Tax Credit
Worth up to $2,000 per tax return.
20 percent of the first $10,000 of qualified education expenses

20. TIN Certification
Checkbox certifies that school has followed rules for soliciting TINs
Check the box for a student if
TIN is reported, and school believes it to be correct
No TIN is reported, but school has asked student in appropriate manner at least once during year
Leave checkbox blank only if
school does not have TIN and
has not followed IRS rules about soliciting TINs

21. Reporting Exceptions Now Nonresident aliens Noncredit courses
Box 5 ≥ Box 1
Formal billing arrangements
Proposed

22. Qualified Tuition and Related Expenses (QTRE)
Definition has not changed
Tuition and fees required for enrollment
Books and supplies charges, if required to be paid to institution But not
Personal expenses (room, board, insurance, medical, travel, etc.)
Expenses for courses involving sports, games, or hobbies (unless part of degree program)
See NACUBO Advisory Report 18-06

24. Scholarships and Grants
Definition has not changed
IRS proposed broadening “administered and processed by the institution”
2017 instructions have added “which you know or reasonably should know is a scholarship or grant”
All grant aid that goes toward cost of attendance should be reported
Grant aid that can pay QTRE is reported in both Box 1 and Box 5
Aid that is restricted to nonqualified expenses is reported only in Box 5

26. Reporting Payments (Current Rules)
Payments received [§ S-1(b)(v)]
During the calendar year
From any source (except aid restricted to non-QTRE charges)
Up to total amounts billed for QTRE
Includes any positive account balance that is applied to current charges
Reportable amount [§ S-1(b)(iii)]
Net payments against reimbursements or refunds relating to payments made during calendar year

27. Two 1098-T Go-to Resources Advisory 18-06 Q&A from 2017 Webcast
Available at:

28. NACUBO Resources Bursar List Student Financial Services Council
International Overpayments
Financial Responsibility Agreements
Policy Manual Suggestions
Perkins Wind-down Guidance
SFS Research
Student Financial Services Benchmarking Study
SFS Policies and Procedures Study
NACUBO.org (“Topics” or “Advocacy” tabs)

29. Thank you.
Bryan Dickson