FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Allie Arcese
Sr. Director, Strategic Communications
(202) 785-6954
[email protected]

WASHINGTON, D.C., JANUARY 28, 2025 — The Department of Education (ED) on Tuesday issued an electronic announcement noting that Title IV funds will not be impacted by a newly issued memo from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that seeks to temporarily pause certain federal financial assistance programs. ED added that it is “reviewing the full impact” of the White House directive. It is still unclear whether other aid outside of Title IV student aid funding would be exempt from the pause.

In response to this news, NASFAA Interim President & CEO Beth Maglione provided the following statement:

"It is a relief to hear that Title IV student financial aid will be exempt from the recent Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memorandum instructing federal agencies to temporarily suspend certain financial assistance programs, including some grants and loans. 

These programs provide critical financial assistance to millions of college students across the country, and for some are the deciding factor in determining whether they attend college at all. The response from our community today further solidifies how integral Title IV aid is to student access to and success in higher education. That’s why NASFAA continues to call on the Trump administration and our federal lawmakers to strengthen federal student aid programs, such as by increasing Pell Grant funding to support low-income students, and move Pell funding to full mandatory funding to ensure long-term stability and predictability.

However, it remains unclear as to whether other aid outside of Title IV will be impacted by this pause. NASFAA is actively collaborating with the Department of Education to assess the potential impacts."

###

About NASFAA

The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) is a nonprofit membership organization that represents more than 29,000 financial aid professionals at approximately 3,000 colleges, universities, and career schools across the country. NASFAA member institutions serve nine out of every 10 undergraduates in the U.S. Based in Washington, D.C., NASFAA is the only national association with a primary focus on student aid legislation, regulatory analysis, and training for financial aid administrators.