Do Shocking College Tuition Prices Reflect What Students Actually Pay? July 16, 2024-"It’s no secret that high school students are looking at the prospect of college more skeptically, and a large part of their hesitation comes from worry about taking on thousands of dollars in student loans," EdSurge reports.
Don’t Just Cancel Student Debt. Make It Pay Off. Here’s How. July 12, 2024-"The approval of $7.7 billion in student-debt cancellation for 160,500 borrowers is the latest move in the Biden administration’s campaign to confront the nation’s nearly $1.6 trillion in student debt. The administration is...
Locking In a FAFSA Deadline July 11, 2024-"The House Education and Workforce Committee moved legislation forward on Wednesday that would cement Oct. 1 as the official deadline for launching the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, this year and in perpetuity," Inside Higher Ed reports.
SCOTUS Decision Seizes Power to Decide Federal Regulations July 11, 2024-"The Supreme Court issued several consequential rulings in its recently concluded term. One such decision reversed a 40-year precedent commonly known as the Chevron doctrine, which gave federal agencies the authority to write rules that enforced and ...
House Committee Advances Bill to Mandate FAFSA Release by Oct. 1 July 10, 2024-"The House’s education committee Wednesday advanced a bill that would require the U.S. Department of Education to release the Free Application for Federal Student Aid by Oct. 1 each year," Higher Ed Dive reports.
The College Board’s FAFSA Takeover July 9, 2024-"The dust has yet to settle from this year’s disastrous rollout of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The U.S. Education Department is still fixing glitches, processing aid forms and working to boost completion rat...
4 Ways to Cover College Without Taking on Debt July 5, 2024-"A college education isn't cheap, and covering that cost often requires students to take out loans. As of 2024, it is estimated that "more than half of students leave school with debt," with an average of '$28,950 owed per borrower,' said Forbes," Th...
Colleges Push for More Time to Meet New Financial Disclosure Rules July 3, 2024-"Higher education institutions are putting pressure on the Biden administration to push back the deadline directing them to turn over data that is meant to help students choose programs that make the most financial sense for them," POLITICO reports.
FAFSA Applications Here’s What To Do If you Still Need Help July 3, 2024-"Following glitches and delays with the new federal application for financial aid, known as FAFSA, student applications across California have dropped by 6%," LAist reports.
Weeks After Graduation, Many Fort Worth Seniors Haven’t Filed FAFSAs. Is It Too Late? July 1, 2024-"As federal education officials continue to clean up after the botched rollout of a new financial aid application, many college-bound students in Tarrant County are still struggling to complete the form," The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.
Is Higher Ed Underpriced? New Bill Would Slash Education Budget June 28, 2024-"House Republicans are moving to slash federal education spending by $11 billion, endorsing a $72 billion package that falls $14.5 billion below the Biden administration’s budget request," University Business reports.
How to Find Financial Aid for Vocational Schools June 28, 2024-"Vocational education programs are typically designed to prepare students for employment more quickly and affordably than a traditional associate or bachelor's degree. Even with a lower price tag, financial aid may still be available for st...
Ongoing FAFSA Issues Threaten to Derail Financial Aid Awards June 27, 2024-"The clumsy rollout of the 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) now threatens to impact students' ability to pay rent and other expenses when classes resume in August," Best Colleges reports.
‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’ on FAFSA June 24, 2024-"The bungled rollout of this year’s new Free Application for Federal Student Aid started with a two-month delay, pushing the usual Oct. 1 launch date to the end of December—a shift that raised eyebrows across higher ed and porte...
FAFSA Update: Good News and Bad News June 22, 2024-"This week, the Department of Education’s (ED) Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) released a new electronic announcement (EA) on remaining issues with the implementation of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) fo...
FAFSA Delays Continue to Disrupt Admissions at Some Colleges June 22, 2024-"For years, Slippery Rock University has held its own in a slumping student market, and its leaders anticipate another strong fall aided by a third consecutive increase in first-year students," The Trib reports.
Daily Briefing: FAFSA Fiasco Exasperates Financial-Aid Officers June 21, 2024-"The annual meeting of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, held in Milwaukee earlier this week, took on an urgent tone this year. The disastrous rollout of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, has ...
FAFSA Crisis Deepens As Cordray Addresses Challenges And Promises Improvements June 20, 2024-"Richard A. Cordray, the chief operating officer of the Education Department's Federal Student Aid (FSA) office, has faced significant challenges during his tenure, particularly with the rollout of the new Free Application for Fed...
Cardona Weighs in on Puerto Rico’s Major Education Overhaul June 18, 2024-"The Education Department announced Monday that it would not be able to submit corrections to FAFSA records in bulk until the first half of August. This is something that is typically available when the application goes live," POLITICO reports.
No Public Comment for Next Year’s FAFSA June 18, 2024-"The U.S. Department of Education will not be opening next year’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA) to public comment or making substantive changes to this past cycle’s form," Inside Higher Ed reports.
How to Prepare for Dramatically Higher Federal Student Loan Interest Rates June 18, 2024-"When federal student loan interest rates increase again in July 2024, undergraduate students taking out direct loans for the 2024-2025 academic year will see some of the highest rates in over a decade," U.S. News and World Report writes.
Are These New Rules the Canary in the Coal Mine for Distance Learning? June 17, 2024-"At the start of the pandemic, the U.S. Department of Education quickly enacted emergency regulations allowing students to continue with their education online—a revolutionary development that provided a lifeline to institutions and students al...
College Board President Will Oversee FAFSA Launch June 14, 2024-"The Education Department has tapped College Board president Jeremy Singer to serve in a new role overseeing the rollout of next year’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid," Inside Higher Ed reports.
Colleges Ask Congress to Delay Gainful Employment Deadline June 12, 2024-"The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) is calling on Congress to take legislative action and require the Education Department to give colleges until July 2025 to comply with the reporting requirements in the n...
Racial Criteria Already Removed By UM from Millions of Dollars in Student Aid June 12, 2024-"The recent University of Missouri Board of Curators petition to remove racial and ethnic criteria from 53 donated scholarships and funds is a final step in a year-long process that has already removed such criteria from millions of dollars in s...
‘Very Unpredictable’: Colleges Fear FAFSA Fiasco Will Hurt Enrollment June 10, 2024-"This was shaping up to be a remarkable year for Mount St. Mary’s University in Los Angeles. Applications were up 40 percent for the 2024-2025 academic year, and the women’s liberal arts school was on track to welcome its largest freshman...
Cardona Calls for FSA Changes, But Experts Say the Damage is Done June 3, 2024-"It’s been a year of missteps, miscalculations, confusion, delays, glitches, and frustration after the botched launch of the simplified FAFSA, which has prevented financial aid packages from being awarded to students with ample time to make pla...
FAFSA, Affordability and Financial Aid’s Future: Key Podcast May 31, 2024-"The last year has been a hellish one for many college financial aid directors—and, not surprisingly, for the head of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, who’s leaving his role after 14 years," Inside Higher ...
‘The Last Straw’ for Weary Financial Aid Officers May 31, 2024-"Christine Taylor is too busy to talk on the phone. The director of financial aid at Bellevue College would love to vent about how difficult the past year has been. But it’s busy season at the largest community and technical college in Was...
The FAFSA Completion Gap Is Shrinking. Will It Disappear Entirely? May 29, 2024-"The U.S. Department of Education unveiled a simplified version of the FAFSA in late December, about three months after the typical release date. The new form streamlines the process for students and their families, asking several dozen questions at ...
Still Waiting On Financial Aid Offers? Here’s What You Can Do Now May 28, 2024-"May 1 was supposed to be “college decision day” for high school seniors across the country. But months of Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) errors and financial aid offer delays have left scores of students unsure of their...
How to Pay for College Without Loans May 24, 2024-"For high school students and their families, the process of applying for college can be loaded with questions: Where will I be accepted? Which major should I choose? And, perhaps most importantly, how will I pay for it all?" U.S. News & World Re...
Federal Aid Delays Leave Students in Limbo After One Million Errors May 20, 2024-"As college decision deadlines approached May 1, students anxiously awaited their financial aid offers after a botched federal student aid rollout left current and prospective students unsure if they could afford college tuition," Alligator.org write...
FAFSA Fiasco 2.0? May 20, 2024-"Last month we shared a FAFSA timeline and argued that the Department of Education (ED) problems with the launch of the new simplified FAFSA started much earlier than this year’s media firestorm," On EdTech writes.
A Last-Minute Sprint to the FAFSA Finish Line May 16, 2024-"In late March, as students were reeling from a wave of delays and errors plaguing the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA), Chandra Scott, executive director of the college access nonprofit Alabama Possible, sat down w...
Financial Aid Offices: How to Stop a Massive Employee Exodus May 15, 2024-"Financial aid offices were already struggling with staff shortages, a lack of representation and other personnel challenges when the FAFSA fiasco struck higher ed. The ongoing disruptions are now adding up to fresh warnings of heavy turnover within ...
Free Support Being Offered for FAFSA Applicants May 15, 2024-"As high school seniors start to feel the pressures of graduating, applying for colleges and generally planning for their futures, having to navigate the complexities of financial aid adds yet another hurdle to an already tense time," KARE 11 reports...
How to Make Sense of a College Financial Aid Package May 13, 2024-"There's been a lot of drama this spring for families seeking college financial aid. The trouble stems from a revamp of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as FAFSA, where changes and technology glitches have been an ongoing source of...
How Participating in Campus Protests Could Affect Your Financial Aid May 10, 2024-"Nationwide, students have organized protests over the Israel and Gaza conflict, urging their colleges to divest holdings of Israeli-connected investments. But participation in a protest could lead to steep — and long-lasting — consequenc...
Half of Financial Aid Officers Want to Switch Jobs May 9, 2024-"Over half of all financial aid professionals are likely to seek employment in a new sector within the next year, according to a new report from the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources and the National Association...
Thousands of Florida Students Scramble as College Financial Aid Flaws Mount May 9, 2024-"Destiny Obioha sat in class at Brandon High for weeks staring at her cell, a headphone in one ear, waiting for someone to answer her call. Instead of eating lunch with friends, she’d head to the library and start dialing," The Tampa Bay T...
How to Get Your Student Loan Out of Default (and How Long It’ll Take) May 7, 2024-"Defaulting on student loans has a host of negative consequences, including credit damage and wage garnishment. The best strategy is to avoid student loan default in the first place, but if you’re already behind, don’t fret — there ...
‘College Decision Day’ Passes, FAFSA in Flux May 2, 2024-"Although May 1 is known as “College Decision Day,” many high school seniors remain in a state of uncertainty as they await financial aid updates," Insight Into Diversity writes.
Education Department Urges Families to Complete FAFSA As College Decision Time Looms May 1, 2024-"On the eve of what’s traditionally been college decision day for students, the Education Department said Tuesday it has resolved issues with millions of federal financial aid applications and is encouraging more families to fill out the form, ...
May 1 Is Usually College Decision Day, but FAFSA Problems Are Causing Delays May 1, 2024-"May 1, known as college decision day across the country, is usually a celebratory time for high school seniors. But this year, many students are stuck in limbo as they wait for delayed financial aid award letters – and have yet to decide ...
How Did the FAFSA Rollout Go So Wrong? A Look at the Key Events May 1, 2024-"Many students, high school guidance counselors and college financial aid officers spent the winter and spring on pins and needles, as new problems with the FAFSA arose, sometimes weekly," USA Today reports.
College Decision Day Passes Many Students By as Financial Aid Delays Linger May 1, 2024-"May 1 is usually when high school seniors start flaunting T-shirts and hats from the colleges they’ll be attending in the fall. But decision day is looking more muted this year, the result of a scrambled financial aid application process that ...
Education Dept. Announces a Long-Awaited FAFSA Fix. But Is It Too Little, Too Late? April 30, 2024-"The U.S. Department of Education on Tuesday announced a long-awaited fix that it said would allow students whose parents lack a Social Security number to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, which many such fami...
Richard Cordray Takes the Fall for FAFSA Fiasco April 28, 2024-"Richard Cordray, the chief operating officer of the Office of Federal Student Aid and top student loan official in the Biden administration, is stepping down," Inside Higher Ed reports.
Leader of Federal Student Aid Office Steps Down After College Admissions Crisis April 26, 2024-"The nation’s top student aid official is stepping down, the Education Department said Friday, after the disastrous rollout of a new financial aid form that upended the college admissions process for millions of students this year," The New Yor...
Head of Federal Student Aid Steps Down After Chaotic FAFSA Season April 26, 2024-"The head of the Federal Student Aid (FSA) office Richard Cordray announced Friday he would step down from his role following the difficulties with the first season of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms," The Hil...
Federal Student Aid Chief to Step Down Amid FAFSA Chaos April 26, 2024-"Rich Cordray will step down as the chief operating officer of the U.S. Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid office at the end of June, according to a Friday announcement from the agency," Higher Ed Dive reports.
Still Need FAFSA? Educators Plan More Events to Help Students April 23, 2024-"Talk to some high school and college students about this year’s Free Application for Financial Student Aid, or FAFSA, and they share their concerns as well as their optimism. Few voice anger about the glitches that have made this financial aid...
Presidents Under Pressure April 23, 2024-"Good morning, and welcome to Tuesday, April 23. Beckie Supiano wrote today’s Briefing. Nick Perez compiled Comings and Goings," The Chronicle of Higher Education reports.
Colleges Still Waiting to Send Aid Offers April 22, 2024-"With less than two weeks until the typical May 1 commitment deadline, only 34 percent of colleges have started sending financial aid offers to accepted students, according to new survey data from the National Association for Student Financ...
April 30 Student Loan Consolidation Deadline Could Relieve Thousands April 19, 2024-"After decades of what it calls “historical failures in administering student loans,” the U.S. Department of Education is providing relief to college graduates navigating the volatile economy," Word In Black reports.
Massachusetts Pushes Back FAFSA Deadline to July 1 April 18, 2024-"The Massachusetts Department of Higher Education has pushed back the priority deadline for the state’s largest financial aid program from May 1 to July 1 — allowing students more time as they scramble to sort through the messy rollout of...
California’s Universities Navigate Unprecedented FAFSA Mistakes and Delays April 16, 2024-"Unprecedented difficulties in students applying for federal financial aid have wreaked havoc among financial aid and admissions officers across California’s colleges and universities, who are facing longer hours and more stress, sometimes whil...
How the Biden Administration Messed Up FAFSA April 16, 2024-"In late march, months into the Free Application for Federal Student Aid–rollout debacle that has thrown millions of students’ college plans into a state of flux, the Department of Education let universities know there was yet anothe...
Higher Ed Experts Foresee Enrollment Decline Due to Botched FAFSA Rollout April 16, 2024-"The botched launch of the 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) may lead to a precipitous drop in college enrollments for the upcoming school year that could surpass those reported following the COVID-19 pandemic, according to hig...
A Fumbled Rollout of a New Financial Aid Form Leaves FAFSA Completion Rates Low April 16, 2024-"Jayna Gilman, a University of Iowa first-year student studying human anatomy and physiology, is just one of millions of students nationwide who are unsure how much they may be expected to pay for college this fall after attempting to fill out the ne...
After the FAFSA Quake, a Flood of Corrections April 15, 2024-"Up to 16 percent of the 7 million Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA) forms submitted so far include student errors and require corrections, the Education Department announced last Wednesday—far more than usual," Inside ...
Student Financial Aid Officers Warn of Delays as Congress Condemns ‘FAFSA Fail’ April 15, 2024-"When Congress passed the FAFSA Simplification Act in 2020, it was intended to make the process of filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form easier and more streamlined for low-income students hoping to attend college. But la...
Opinion: Biden’s Fafsa Failure and Forgotten Parents April 12, 2024-"'F.' That’s the grade financial aid experts gave the Education Department for its rollout of a new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (Fafsa) at a Congressional hearing on Wednesday. Even by government standards, the Biden team’s m...
Bipartisan Frustrations Mount Over FAFSA Chaos As Students Wait on Financial Aid Offers April 11, 2024-"For students and families applying for college financial aid, hang in there. Major problems with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, means that universities and colleges will most likely be delayed in getting offer letters out," ...
Student Aid Woes Stalk Education Secretary in Appearance on Capitol Hill April 11, 2024-"As Miguel A. Cardona, the education secretary, appeared before lawmakers on Wednesday to make his agency’s case for funding next year, members of both parties had something else on their minds: this year’s chaotic college admissions proc...