NASFAA Participates in FAFSA Demonstration on Capitol Hill
Stephen Payne, Policy & Federal Relations Team
The continued dialogue about FAFSA simplification led NASFAA and three other higher education policy organizations to put on a FAFSA simulation for the staff of Democratic Members of Congress on the House Education and the Workforce Committee on Wednesday.
With staff from the offices of nearly 10 U.S. Representatives, members of NASFAA’s policy and federal relations team joined colleagues from the National College Access Network (NCAN), the Access College Foundation, and Young Invincibles in a computer lab on Capitol Hill to allow staff to simulate completing a FAFSA.
NASFAA developed three case studies with various information about financial and family circumstances for staff to use to complete a demo FAFSA. The various pain points discovered throughout the process allowed for a robust conversation at the end of the event where staff and presenters could examine places where the FAFSA could be simplified for students, especially low-income students.
NASFAA has developed its own recommendations for FAFSA simplification through the work of the NASFAA FAFSA Working Group, which released its report in July.
“We approached FAFSA simplification not in terms of the numbers of questions students and parents need to complete, but rather how we could ease the burden on students and families while still maintaining our ability to decipher the truly needy from those who may simply appear needy,” said NASFAA President Justin Draeger at the time of the report’s release.
With discussions surrounding the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act gaining more momentum, NASFAA continues to advocate for a simpler and equitable financial aid application process.
Publication Date: 10/22/2015
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