"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) form, as well as new information on the Department’s plan for releasing the form for the 2025-26 award year," American Association of Community Colleges  reports.

..."While ensuring that students can access and complete the form in the fall is of paramount concern, this decision does remove a key opportunity for institutions and advocates to make changes to the form in a way that benefits students and their user experiences. To that end, the Department has indicated that instead of a formal public comment process, they will be hosting “listening sessions” to gather feedback on the current form and make non-substantive changes where appropriate. For stakeholders unable to attend the listening sessions, the Department will also issue a Request for Information (RFI) to solicit feedback. At this week’s annual National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) conference,  Melanie Storey, director of policy implementation and oversight at FSA, mentioned adding pop-ups that give students more information on questions that have been confusing (in this case, the question on if students want to apply for only unsubsidized loans) as an example of the types of changes that the Department will be able to make based on received feedback."

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: 6/22/2024