"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 most compared to up to 100 in the original," Higher Ed Dive reports.

... "A policy expert at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators — one of the letter’s signatories — said timely release of the FAFSA moving forward will be crucial to ensuring colleges have enough time to make financial aid offers and students and families have the time to weigh them."

"'I am reasonably optimistic that there is support in Congress,' said Karen McCarthy, NASFAA’s vice president of public policy and federal relations. 'I am less optimistic that it will actually make its way into legislation that passes before Oct.1 of this coming year.'"

"McCarthy said the need for an Oct. 1 release date supersedes many of the letter’s requests for now."

"'If Congress were to pass something in July requiring a particular change, that would be a very heavy lift for the Department of Education to implement. We would not want Congress to require that the department implement it for the ’25-’26 year,' she said."

NASFAA's "Notable Headlines" section highlights media coverage of financial aid to help members stay up to date with the latest news. Articles included under the notable headlines section are not written by NASFAA, but rather by external sources. Inclusion in Today's News does not imply endorsement of the material or guarantee the accuracy of information presented.

Publication Date: 5/29/2024