"The application prospective students use to get access to federal financial aid for higher education will be rolled out in phases this year, the Department of Education said Wednesday, to attempt to avoid the messy and confusing experience students had with a revamped version of the form made available this past year," ABC News reports.

..."Those who have been watching this process closely over the past year said they're cautiously optimistic that the upcoming school year will be smoother.

'The fact that we are still, to this day, dealing with the aftershocks of this year's FAFSA rollout shows just how imperative it is that the process is thoroughly tested from end to end and launched as a system, not in a piecemeal manner,' the interim president and CEO of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators Beth Maglione said in a statement.

'Ideally, we would have a fully functional, well-tested FAFSA opening on October 1. But given where we are in the process, and the challenges that have plagued this year's rollout, we would rather wait until December 1 to allow time for the necessary testing to ensure a functional system when ED launches the 2025-26 FAFSA,' she 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: 8/9/2024