OTC Inside the Beltway: Looking at the Year Ahead for Higher Ed

This week on "Off The Cuff," Melanie and Karen give an overview of what could be in store for higher education this year. Melanie kicks things off with an overview of the implementation of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) and its impact on aid offices, and also highlights recent comments from Education Secretary Linda McMahon about the administration's priorities for higher education in 2026. Karen then catches listeners up on the latest developments in ongoing negotiated rulemaking sessions, focusing on workforce Pell Grants and a new institutional accountability framework. The team also shares some of the latest FAFSA developments and rounds things out with an update on the appropriations process.

You can listen to OTC Inside the Beltway: Looking at the Year Ahead for Higher Ed online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

OTC Inside the Beltway: Looking at the Year Ahead for Higher Ed is an episode from NASFAA's Off the Cuff Podcast by National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.

This episode is 31:03 long.

This episode was published on Jan 8, 2026.

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