NASFAA Statement on ED's Final Beta Stages for the 2025-26 FAFSA
Contact: Hugh Ferguson
Managing Editor, NASFAA
WASHINGTON, D.C., November 14, 2024 — Today, the U.S. Department of Education announced that the 2025-26 FAFSA is entering the final stages of the beta testing process, which will now allow more students to complete and submit their forms while remaining on course to officially release the form before December 1.
The Department has said it will make the decision to end beta testing and announce the official release of the 2025–26 FAFSA form based on platform stability, customer satisfaction, and contact center capacity, no later than Dec. 1.
NASFAA has consistently called on the department to remain transparent in their testing and launch plans for the 2025-26 FAFSA. Today's announcement detailing the next steps for ED's final beta testing period indicates that the official release of the form to all users remains on track.
In response to today's announcement, NASFAA has developed a list of anticipated questions and answers to help our members understand this new testing phase and what it means for their students and institutions.
Following today's news, NASFAA Interim President & CEO Beth Maglione released the following statement:
"To date, the Department's process and planned rollout of the 2025-26 FAFSA has been transparent and tracked ahead of their scheduled December 1 launch date, which seems to indicate that federal leaders have taken to heart the lessons learned from last year's glitchy rollout, and have used those lessons to chart a more stable roadmap.
Seeing the Department underpromise and overdeliver on this year's FAFSA launch timelines and outreach is heartening. Continuing this strategy into the future would be a step toward helping restore the trust that has been lost between the financial aid community and the Department.
As we move forward, NASFAA remains hopeful that lines of communication will remain open and this strengthened partnership will result in students, their families, and schools being greeted by a ‘Better FAFSA' platform that will work end-to-end, for all stakeholders – this academic year, and beyond."
In the coming days, NASFAA will remain in direct communication with our members and encourage them to share any observations they make or feedback they receive concerning usability and user experience with the 2025-26 FAFSA. We will continue to monitor this situation and remain hopeful for a successful FAFSA launch."
As a reminder, students and families can prepare now for the 2025-26 FAFSA launch by following the key steps outlined by NASFAA.
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About NASFAA
The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) is a nonprofit membership organization that represents more than 29,000 financial aid professionals at approximately 3,000 colleges, universities, and career schools across the country. NASFAA member institutions serve nine out of every 10 undergraduates in the U.S. Based in Washington, D.C., NASFAA is the only national association with a primary focus on student aid legislation, regulatory analysis, and training for financial aid administrators.
Publication Date: 11/15/2024
