For three days in June, over 80 individuals from a dozen countries, including 70 representatives of schools outside of the United States plus colleagues participating in US federal student loan programs, met in Boston, Massachusetts to discuss a number of issues foreign schools face as they strive to serve students attending their schools and receiving US federal student assistance.

Attendees were updated on the progress of legislation that would reauthorize the Higher Education Act and modify US federal student aid programs. They also heard from the Federal Student Aid Ombudsman of the Department of Education. It is this office that helps resolve disputes and solve other problems with federal student loans. Representatives from the Department of Education's Office of the Inspector General shared that office's latest priorities related to fraud activities-both domestically and internationally. The conference also provided real training for those who use electronic systems in the day-to-day administrative duties related to federal student aid programs. At a time that the US federal student loan program is undergoing tremendous change, schools and their partners were able to network and have frank discussions about the climate affecing the US federal student loan program and what may be coming in the future.

IEC is grateful for those who made the time to attend this conference and we look forward to building on the conversations and input we heard to better serve our growing membership.

You can find presentations from the conference here:

Betsy Mayotte, Director, American Student Assistance

Harrison Wadsworth, Executive Director of the International Education Council

Presentations featured at the IEC conference are proprietary and cannot be reproduced or shared with external audiences without permission from IEC, and should not be used for marketing purposes. Further, participants in federal student loan programs should seek advice on regulatory matters from their own counsel.

On June 3rd, 2005, the International Education Council held its annual conference in Seattle, Washington, USA, on the heels of the Annual NAFSA 2005 Annual Conference & International Education Expo, also held in Seattle. Attendees heard from IEC leadership about the Council's successes to date. IEC Executive Director Harrison Wadsworth gave an update on IEC's activities in Washington, DC, including its work around advocating for changes to the Higher Education Act that would ease some of the burdensome requirements foreign institutions participating in US federal student loan programs face. In addition, the US Department of Education Foreign Schools Team gave an update on their priorities and activities, and attendees were able to hear how their colleagues at US higher education institutions deal with federal regulations and the various responsibilities involved in receiving federal student loan dollars. The Conference also provided an invaluable opportunity for attendees to talk to colleagues about the issues and challenges facing institutions of higher education outside of the United States that participate in the U.S. federally supported student loan program and their partners.

The presentations from this meeting are available here:

Barbara Hemelt, Director of the Foreign Schools Team at the US Department of Education

Harrison Wadsworth, Executive Director of the International Education Council

Debra Chromy and Caroline Menedez of American Student Assistance