Perkins Loans Authorized Through FY2014

Breaking News from the COHEAO Annual Conference:  Perkins Loans Authorized Through FY2014

The Department of Education’s Gail McLarnon brought some welcome news today to the COHEAO Annual Conference.  McLarnon announced that the Department has determined current law authorizes the Perkins Loan Program through FY2014. This means Perkins schools should plan to continue making loans from Perkins revolving funds until September 30, 2014 (the federal fiscal year ends on September 30).

The challenge facing Perkins was two dates in the Higher Education Act related to its authorization under federal law to operate.  One, modified in 2008 as part of the Higher Education Act reauthorization, indicates the program is authorized through FY2014.  Another, the infamous sunset provision, suggests the federal share of the revolving fund is to be sent to the Department of Education starting after October 1, 2012.  This date was last modified in 2007.

During her presentation, McLarnon said attorneys at the Department of Education have decided the program will, in fact, be treated as authorized through FY2014.  The Department intends to announce this interpretation in a dear colleague letter, which McLarnon said was in the final stages and is expected to be published sometime in February.

COHEAO will continue to let Congress know about the benefits of Perkins Loan Program and support its funding and continuation in the indefinite future.

If you have any questions, please contact Harrison Wadsworth of COHEAO at hwadsworth@wpllc.net or Wes Huffman of COHEAO atwhuffman@wpllc.net.

 

 

ECSI Strengthens Executive Management Team – Appoints COO and CFO

ECSI, a leading service provider in the education and electronic payment processing industry announced the appointment of Dan Frazier as Chief Operating Officer and Nick Battaglia as Chief Financial Officer.

“The addition of Dan and Nick to ECSI’s executive management team reflects the company’s recent growth and future potential,” said John Lynch, President and CEO of ECSI.  “This investment in leadership, positions us to capitalize on the increasing demand for our unique array of higher education products and services and our emerging market products in the electronic payment processing space.”

Mr. Frazier will be responsible for the strategic and operational leadership of ECSI’s business operations, product development, technology, and client services teams.  Mr. Frazier brings over 16 years of business operations and technology development experience within financial, technology and service industries to ECSI.  Most recently, Mr. Frazier served as Senior Vice President of Strategy & Execution for ServiceLink, Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF), National Lender Platform where he led, created and developed teams across the Technology, Finance, HR and Operations departments over the past seven years of their significant growth.  Earlier, Mr. Frazier held leadership positions at PNC Bank, Bank of New York Mellon and Idea Integration where he gained extensive experience in operations management, product development, and technology development.

“Dan is a strategic and accomplished business professional who brings with him a wealth of experience including a solid customer focused background that easily translates to our organization,” said John Lynch, President and Chief Executive Officer.  “I look forward to partnering with Dan and having him join our outstanding leadership team and believe his fresh approach will build upon the great progress we’ve made towards delivering a more consistent customer experience and stronger business results.”

Mr. Battaglia will be responsible for all of the financial and treasury areas of ECSI’s business and will manage the banking, insurance, audit/tax and legal relationships.  Mr. Battaglia brings over 22 years of experience to ECSI of which the past 11 years he served in CFO roles for financial services and manufacturing companies.   Mr. Battaglia has significant experience in assisting growth related businesses in areas such as access to capital and building/strengthening of infrastructure and control systems to manage growth.  As CFO, Mr. Battaglia has served in leadership roles within these entities acting as the business advisor to the management team and Board of Directors on all financial matters.

“Nick brings solid experience in helping growth companies establish and maintain efficient control infrastructures,” said John Lynch.  “Similar to Dan, Nick will bring a fresh look to our current infrastructure and ensure we are positioned well for continued growth.  In addition, Nick’s experience will allow ECSI to access capital for our growth investments.”

Perkins Call-In to Congress Days: September 15 & 16

Perkins Call-In to Congress Days: September 15 & 16

In order to show support for extending and providing adequate funds for the Perkins Loan Program, COHEAO has planned Perkins Loan Call-In to Congress Days for Wednesday, September 15 and Thursday, September 16 for the Washington offices of Members of Congress. Please be sure to contact your legislators (House and Senate) and ask them to support the Perkins Loan Program by extending and funding it.

Additional materials are available on at www.coheao.org and please feel free to contact COHEAO with any questions or concerns. When contacting your Representatives, please ask them to cosponsor H.R. 5448, the “Perkins Loan Extension Act,” a bill introduced by Congressman John Spratt that has bipartisan cosponsorship. Please also notify them of the critical need for appropriations to fund cancellations and provide more financing for students.

To locate the contact information for your legislators, please visitwww.contactingthecongress.org (an excellent online resource for this information, but not affiliated with COHEAO). As always, if you have any questions on contacting your legislators, please contact Wes Huffman (whuffman@wpllc.net). Please also share any feedback you receive from your calls with us.

This is important, so please call. Thank you!