After months of delays and technical issues, some universities are beginning to receive the federal data they need to compile financial aid proposals for new students.
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced Monday that after months of delays and technical issues, some colleges have begun receiving the federal data they need to compile financial aid proposals for freshmen.
The Department of Education said it had sent batches of student records to “dozens of schools” on Sunday and was making final updates before expanding to more universities. The ministry did not say which schools received the first batch or how many student records were sent.
The delay shortened the time schools have to assemble financial aid packages by May 1, the usual deadline for students to enroll in college. Many colleges are extending enrollment deadlines pending federal requests, leaving families across the country wondering how much financial aid they can get for college tuition.
A review of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid has delayed the normal rollout of forms from October to late December. The department subsequently soft-launched a new version to address lingering bugs in the system, but many families reported being unable to access the forms.
Congress ordered updates in 2020 to simplify the notoriously complex form and expand federal student aid to more low-income students. The new application reduces the number of questions from 108 to fewer than 50 and uses a new, more generous formula to determine eligibility for federal student aid.
This delay has a knock-on effect across higher education. FAFSA information is used to award state and federal education grants and is used by schools to assemble financial aid packages for prospective students. On the other hand, families often have only a vague idea of how much they will have to pay, which can be a deciding factor when choosing a university.
Advocates worry that the holdup will deter some students, especially those who are already on the fence, from pursuing higher education altogether.
The repeated delays have been a stain on the Biden administration, which has blamed Congress for denying requests for additional funding to overhaul information systems and revamp the decades-old application process.
Congressional Republicans say the Government Accountability Office has opened an investigation into the administration’s response to the review.
Each year, approximately 17 million students submit the FAFSA as part of their financial aid application. To date, 3.6 million students have been able to fill out the new FAFSA form, the agency said.
The department will update the formula to account for inflation and increase the amount of aid students are eligible to receive. However, the initial release did not include an updated inflation tool.
In a letter to the department in February, more than 100 Democratic lawmakers asked for answers about how the department plans to minimize the impact of delays on families.
“Delays in the financial aid process have the greatest impact on students who need it most, including many students of color, mixed-status students, and students from rural backgrounds. , including homeless and foster care students, first-generation students, and students in American underserved communities,” they wrote. “For institutions that support students’ ability to make informed decisions about their futures, we need clear guidance and resources from our faculty on all next steps immediately.”
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