"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.

... "Typically, financial aid administrators would catch these errors and send applications back for reprocessing through 'batch corrections.'"

"'ED's latest announcement throws a wrench into these plans,' Desjean said."

"Now, financial aid administrators have two primary options. One is to wait until August and hope the forms are corrected and reprocessed quickly so students can get the aid they need when they need it. The other is for financial aid offices to send manual corrections one at a time to ED over the coming weeks and months."

"She said manual corrections may ensure money reaches students on time, but they are not always feasible."

"For example, large public institutions may have to process many corrections. Moreover, it can be difficult to track what changes need to be made at an individual student level — something ED can do much more easily, Desjean said."

"NASFAA President and CEO Justin Draeger called the announcement unacceptable in a statement."

"'While the department has provided workarounds for schools to make corrections on a student-by-student basis, these processes are impractical for large schools and impossible for under-resourced schools, all while asking institutions to take on an unacceptable amount of risk,' he said. 'In the end, it's the most vulnerable students who will once again be harmed by this delay.'"

"Desjean added that schools and ED typically don't tell students if their FAFSA is being corrected."

"'I'm sure most students don't realize,' she said."

"This means they may show up to classes in August unaware that they aren't yet in line to receive their student loan."

"Worst-case scenario, these students will attempt to pay their rent in September and realize they don't have the money to do so. Or they may head to the grocery store on a very strict budget until their FAFSA is corrected."

"Desjean advises students to call or email their financial aid office to confirm whether their form is being corrected. If it is being corrected, students might ask whether it'll be a manual or batch correction so they can prepare accordingly."

... "Desjean shared those concerns about the number of returning students who have completed their FAFSA. However, she added that it's easier for colleges and universities to contact these students to remind them to submit their form, so she expects this group of students to continue to file FAFSAs over the summer."

... "Desjean said meeting the Oct. 1 deadline isn't make-or-break for the department. Instead, many financial aid administrators are asking ED to prioritize a fully functioning FAFSA at launch, even if that means delaying the release until November or December."

"Many in the industry would sacrifice a later start date if it means financial aid offices will get student data within a week after the FAFSA is filed."

"'It's a hard balance to achieve, especially given this year. I understand [ED officials] want to save face and get the FAFSA out on time this year,' Desjean said. 'But I'm not sure how much they would be saving face if schools don't get all the information they need.'"

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: 6/27/2024