"A group of five higher education organizations sent a letter Tuesday to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona recommending the Department of Education push back the release date for next year’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid to Dec. 1," Inside Higher Ed reports.

... "Two of the letter’s signatories—the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators and the National College Access Network—had previously urged the department to work toward an Oct. 1 release date in order to prevent a repeat of the issues caused by the last academic year’s extensive delays. But in the more recent letter, the groups say that concerns in the financial aid community about the department’s ability to launch on that date with a complete, reliable form prompted them to change course."

"'We did not come to this decision lightly,' a NASFAA spokesperson wrote in a statement accompanying the letter. 'It is our understanding there is no path to an October 1 FAFSA release that is user-tested, fully functional, and allows for processing within one to three days. Furthermore, releasing the form in advance of a working processing system would delay the ability to process FAFSAs correctly and in a timely manner, and introduce errors to the system that could be prevented with more time to identify and address issues.'"

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: 7/24/2024