NASFAA Statement on 2025-26 FAFSA Release Plans
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Hugh Ferguson
Managing Editor, NASFAA
[email protected]
WASHINGTON, D.C., AUGUST 7, 2024 — Today, the U.S. Department of Education announced its plans to have a fully functional 2025-26 FAFSA system available to all applicants on or before December 1, 2024, following a phased rollout and focused user testing period with a limited set of students and institutions that will begin on October 1, 2024.
However, in an afternoon press call, senior Department officials noted that while batch corrections functionality would be available sometime in 2025-26, it would not be available for institutions in time for the December 1 full launch. They did not provide further information on when it would become available. Schools will be able to make manual, individual corrections on December 1.
Last year, operational difficulties associated with a congressionally mandated overhaul delayed the FAFSA by several months, leading up to a challenging soft launch and rollout period that was hampered by glitches, technical issues, errors, and delays over the last year. Recognizing the turmoil that resulted from last year’s bungled FAFSA release, NASFAA last month joined others in the higher education community to urge the Department to focus on launching a FAFSA system for the 2025-26 year that had been tested and found to be functional from end to end.
In response to today’s news, NASFAA Interim President & CEO Beth Maglione released the following statement:
“The fact that we are still, to this day, dealing with the aftershocks of this year’s FAFSA rollout shows just how imperative it is that the process is thoroughly tested from end to end and launched as a system, not in a piecemeal manner.
Ideally, we would have a fully functional, well-tested FAFSA opening on October 1. But given where we are in the process, and the challenges that have plagued this year’s rollout, we would rather wait until December 1 to allow time for the necessary testing to ensure a functional system when ED launches the 2025-26 FAFSA.
It is encouraging that the Department listened to NASFAA and community input and is now communicating fall timelines ahead of time. It is less encouraging to hear that next year’s FAFSA will launch without batch corrections functionality.
As we move forward, we hope that ED will maintain a high level of transparency — particularly around issues that would directly impact the ability of financial aid professionals to serve students, such as a functional batch corrections process. We also hope this two-month planned testing period will allow for a much smoother rollout when the FAFSA is available to all applicants on December 1.
We all want this year’s FAFSA rollout to work for students and schools, and urge the Department to keep the lines of communication open with the financial aid community so that we can plan appropriately, provide accurate advice and assistance to students, and help troubleshoot issues as needed.”
NASFAA policy experts are available to speak to members of the media about the launch of the 2025-26 FAFSA. To set up an interview, please email [email protected].
###
About NASFAA
The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) is a nonprofit membership organization that represents more than 29,000 financial aid professionals at approximately 3,000 colleges, universities, and career schools across the country. NASFAA member institutions serve nine out of every 10 undergraduates in the U.S. Based in Washington, D.C., NASFAA is the only national association with a primary focus on student aid legislation, regulatory analysis, and training for financial aid administrators.
Publication Date: 8/7/2024