"The U.S. Department of Education sent hundreds of thousands of inaccurate student financial aid assessments to colleges in recent weeks, it acknowledged Friday – an error it blamed on an outside vendor," USA Today reports.

... "While many institutions have their own forms of financial aid, they start with a foundation from the federal government. And they depend on the Education Department to collect applicants' financial information. In a statement Friday, Justin Draeger, the president of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, underscored that colleges and universities can only work with valid and correct data provided to them by the government."

"'This is another unforced error that will likely cause more processing delays for students,' Draeger said. 'At this stage in the game and after so many delays, every error adds up and will be felt acutely by every student who is counting on need-based financial aid to make their postsecondary dreams a reality.'"

... "'It is not feasible or realistic to send out incorrect FAFSA data and ask thousands of schools to make real-time calculations and adjustments to the federal formula on the school side,' Draeger said."

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: 3/22/2024