Financial aid laws
The Director of Financial Aid office is responsible for the management and regulation of the Financial Aid accounting operations, budget preparation, and preparation of Federal, state and district reports, maintenance of Federal fund budgetary controls, regulatory compliance, and delivery of funds and services to students. The federal government passed so many laws and regulations for better service of Financial Aid. Recently federal government created a new law on repayment system i.e. Income Based Program (IBR)), which allows the applicants to reduces the monthly installments payments for high debt/low income borrowers with partial financial hardship. The College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 help the students in two ways in reducing the monthly student loan payments on federally guaranteed student loans and cancelling the remaining debt for public servants after 10 years of public service employment.
The college cost reduction access act consists of below eight titles, which contains below information:
* Title I discusses about the grants to students in attendance of in attendance of higher education
* Title II discusses about the student loan benefits, terms and conditions
* Title III explains about the Federal family educational loan
* Title IV discusses Loan Forgiveness
* Title V Federal Perkins Loans
* Title VI Loan Analysis
* Title VII competitive loan action program
* Title VIII partnership Grants
The below are the main laws enacted by the congress on the Financial Aid:
1. Laws enacted by Congress: The Federal Student Aid program is legally enacted by federal Congress since passing the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA).Based on the need of the students federal student aid was expanded to postsecondary students. Title IV of the congress laws defines, sustains, modifies, and adds Federal Student Aid programs.
2. Authorizing Legislation: There was one legislation that congress laws should be reviewed every five years which is known as reauthorization. Was extended to the year 2003. The congress can issue additional laws meanwhile reauthorizations which can become a part of Higher educational academy.
3. Appropriating Legislation: Federal congress allocates specific amount and funds in budget to assist the financial aid programmes.
4. The Federal Congress has considered using college tuition tax credits as an instrument of social tax policy in the US. during three major legislative periods of 1965, 1978 and 1997. Recently in 1997, President Clinton signed the Taxpayer Relief Act, which authorizes to tax provisions at students and families paying for college.
5. The government created a loan on forgiveness for public service employees. This scheme allows the students to make 120 qualifying loan payments on a Federal Direct loan (including Federal Direct Consolidation loans) while working full-time for 10 years in public service employment; the remaining unpaid balance will be waived by the federal government.
6. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Pub. L. 88-352, 42 U.S.C. 2000-d) prohibits disqualifying from taking financial aid on the basis of race, color or national origin.
7. Higher Education Act of 1965 as amended in 1998, Title IV 20 U.S.C., 1070-99.
8. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794), prohibits ban on the basis of handicap in providing financial aid.
9. The Age Discrimination Act of 1975, (Pub. L. 95-478), prohibits discriminating for financial id based on the age factor.
10. Institution's Program Participation Agreement (PPA)
11. Institution's Eligibility Certification Acknowledgement Report (ECAR)
12. U.S. Department of Education Policy as explained in the Student Financial Aid Handbooks and Dear Colleague Letters
13. Case Law including administrative hearings and appeals