"The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, must be fully functional for students and colleges this fall — even if its arrival is delayed by two months," The Chronicle of Higher Education reports.

... "Some associations have expressed concern about the pending legislation. Though the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) has long supported the codification of an October 1 release date for the FAFSA, the organization warned that doing so this year could have unintended consequences."

"'Cementing an October launch date only addresses a piece of the puzzle; consistency is another,' Karen McCarthy, NASFAA’s vice president for public policy and federal relations said in a written statement in early July. 'Forcing an October 1 deadline this year does not guarantee a fully functioning form, and may in fact work against efforts to release a product that has been tested and found to run smoothly.'"

"NASFAA was among the five organizations that signed the letter sent to the Education Department on Tuesday. Developing a well-functioning federal-aid system, the letter says, requires significant time for testing that would allow for the identification of problems students might encounter with the FAFSA: 'This testing process cannot be shortchanged or skipped, or we will experience a repeat of this year — a never-ending game of whack-a-mole where workarounds are substituted for a holistic solution.'"

... "Department officials have said previously that they expect that the FAFSA will be available on October 1. At NASFAA’s annual conference, in Milwaukee, in June, Richard A. Cordray, who stepped down later that month as head of the Federal Student Aid office, said his staff was 'working toward' that goal, though many financial-aid officers there who were knee-deep in the FAFSA crisis said they doubted that the department would deliver a functional form by then."

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: 7/23/2024