Senate GOP Launches Website for Reporting FAFSA Issues
By Hugh T. Ferguson, NASFAA Senior Staff Reporter
A group of Senate Republicans led by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), ranking member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, have launched a website for students, guidance counselors, college admissions faculty, financial aid administrators and others, to report issues they are experiencing with the 2024-25 FAFSA application.
Cassidy also announced, in a press conference on Thursday, that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has begun an investigation – which Cassidy and other Republicans requested – into the Department of Education’s (ED) handling of the FAFSA launch.
“The biggest concern is for those high school students who are just now attending college for the first time who have not been through this before,” Cassidy said. “Many students will likely forgo college because they do not know if they can afford it.”
The new resource comes in the wake of ED’s continued delays in the FAFSA rollout, with the department announcing on Tuesday that institutions and states will begin receiving Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs) in the “first half of March.”
“The purpose of this hotline is for students, guidance counselors, college admissions faculty, financial aid administrators and other interested parties to report problems with the FAFSA and process,” the webpage for the submission form reads. “Any information submitted through this form will be used to inform policymaking and congressional oversight only.”
Publication Date: 2/2/2024
Amanda G | 2/5/2024 5:7:36 PM
Where is Lamar Alexander now? Oh that's right. Retired. He should have plenty of time to field all the complaints about his brilliant idea.
James C | 2/2/2024 12:34:34 PM
Republicans concerned about access and affordability? ? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha…
David S | 2/2/2024 9:57:53 AM
Excellent point, Joshua.
Joshua N | 2/2/2024 9:52:48 AM
I will also look forward to suggestions to increase funding to hire more people to work on the FSA portfolio so no issues like this occur in the future.
David S | 2/2/2024 8:38:29 AM
Well if Republicans are so concerned about access and affordability, I look forward to their legislative efforts to meaningfully increase the amount of federal financial aid available to needy students.
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