"The U.S. Department of Education announced Tuesday that it won’t transmit information from students who filled out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid to colleges until the first half of March, further shortening the timeline for institutions to make financial aid offers," Higher Ed Dive reports.

... "'On the very day that schools were expecting FAFSA applicant information, they were instead notified by the U.S. Department of Education that they shouldn’t expect to receive that data until March, at the earliest,' Justin Draeger, president and CEO of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, said in a statement. 'These continued delays, communicated at the last minute, threaten to harm the very students and families that federal student aid is intended to help.'"

... "'With this last-minute news, our nation’s colleges are once again left scrambling as they determine how best to work within these new timelines to issue aid offers as soon as possible — so the students who can least afford higher education aren’t the ones who ultimately pay the price for these missteps,' Draeger said."

"Draeger also pointed out that wide contingents of students haven’t been able to fill out the FAFSA online as the department continues to work through issues with the new form. So far, 3.1 million FAFSA forms have been submitted for the 2024-25 award year, the department said Tuesday."

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: 1/30/2024