NASFAA launched NCI in 2008 to foster national dialogue on reforming student aid, build consensus for effective student aid reforms, and ultimately enact reforms that will remove any and all financial barriers to postsecondary education. In April 2009, NASFAA issued the NCI Preliminary Recommendations, a coherent framework of 30 integrated recommendations for remaking the student aid system so it is more effective and efficient. The recommendations were the product of a year-long effort to gather input from thousands of financial aid professionals and public policy experts, and data from more than 40 related research studies.

Member Feedback

Since the launch of the preliminary recommendations, NASFAA has continued to gather input from financial aid administrators and experts. The "NCI: 2010 Report to Membership" summarizes this feedback and divides the recommendations into two categories: (1) recommendations that received wide-spread support and were integrated into NASFAA's ongoing advocacy efforts and (2) recommendations that were controversial and are currently being reviewed, debated and refined for possible future advocacy efforts. The report provides an update on recent progress to enact recommendations that NASFAA has been advocating.

Progress and Accomplishments

Since the release of the NCI Preliminary Recommendations, NASFAA has successfully worked to get several student aid reforms enacted. In addition, support for some recommendations has been growing and measurable progress has been made. The following are a few areas where progress has been made:

• Allowing families to initiate the financial aid application process through the federal tax system
• Strengthen the Income Based Repayment Program by reducing the repayment threshold from 15 percent to 10 percent of students' discretionary income and reduce the amount of time needed for loan furtiveness form 25 years to 20 years
• Redirect funds from the ACG and SMART Grant programs into the Pell Grant Program
• Streamline the FAFSA application so that it collects only demographic, student eligibility, and dependency status data

Future Scope of NCI

Because final recommendations may quickly become outdated, NCI is designed as a living project. NASFAA expects to conduct a comprehensive review of the recommendations every four years and reissue them to Congress and the administration at the beginning of their legislative cycle. The process associated with NCI will remain constant (i.e., consulting with policy advisors, basing recommendations on research and feedback from members, developing an advocacy plan, etc.).

To keep the conversation alive and at the forefront of public policy, NASFAA will annually issue an update to evaluate the nation's progress to reform the student aid program to be more efficient and effective.

National Conversation Resources

• Latest National Conversation News from NASFAA
• Archived Webinar and Handouts - Launch of NCI Preliminary Recommendations April 22, 2009
• National Conversation Initiative Preliminary Recommendations April 22, 2009

The History and Purpose of NCI

Despite past efforts at the federal, state, and local levels to improve college access and assistance for all students, there has been an alarming decline in college participation and in the number of baccalaureate degrees awarded to high school students from low- and moderate-income families and historically underrepresented and under served student groups. This trend, which has been worsening over the past decade and a half, has been documented most recently and most persuasively by the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, the federal advisory committee chartered by Congress.

The National Conversation Initiative, launched by NASFAA in April 2008, is a national dialogue for building consensus, support, and enactment of reforms needed to eliminate major obstacles to college access, namely the financial barriers for low- and moderate-income students.

While many proposed solutions have been offered to revise the student aid system with the goal of increasing access, NASFAA's goal with the NCI project is to create a coherent framework of integrated recommendations that it will present to President Obama and legislators within the new administration's first 100 days, and then continue with a focus on advocacy which will include refinement and finalization of the recommendations and, ultimately, enactment.

• Detailed overview of the National Conversation Initiative
• National Conversation Core Principles
• Comments Submission Form

We welcome your comments on NCI. Please email us at NationalConversation@NASFAA.org