As the number of completed federal financial aid applications remains at record lows, the U.S. Department of Education is offering $50 million in grants to encourage more students to fill out applications with problems. Started the program.
“We are determined to close the FAFSA completion gap,” said Deputy Secretary of Education Cindy Marten. “The funding we are announcing today will help states, school districts, and community-based groups build and leverage that power so that all students who need help paying for college can submit their FAFSA forms. We will support you.”
For the first time in more than 40 years, the Department of Education announced an overhaul of the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) to make it easier for students to apply for and qualify for college financial aid.
But what followed was a bureaucratic nightmare that affected millions of students and thousands of schools as problems with applications prevented many students from completing and submitting their forms.
Compounding the problem, colleges only began receiving students' FAFSA information from the Department of Education in late March. Additionally, additional calculation errors mean that hundreds of thousands of forms that have already been submitted will need to be reprocessed.
Since January, more than 30 issues have been reported with the new application. As of May, more than a dozen questions remained unanswered, and many students still had not been able to submit their applications.
The funding announced Monday comes too late to help many students applying to college this fall, but it should provide some relief to those applying next year. The new FAFSA student aid strategy will provide up to $50 million to grant recipients through the Education Credit Management Corporation, a Minnesota-based nonprofit that oversees student loan repayments and provides financial education. Implemented by.
The announcement also came on the heels of a Congressional hearing titled “FAFSA Failure,” in which Rep. Burgess Owens of Utah, the Republican chairman of the House Higher Education Subcommittee, said that aid applications “failed.” He said that the university's “implementation” could cause confusion. Enrollment this year is down 20%.
Mark Kantrowitz, president of Celebry, a consulting firm specializing in student financial aid, said at the hearing that “the decline in college enrollment is worse than the pandemic and could lead to some colleges closing.” Stated.
The Department of Education will prioritize funding to organizations currently working with schools and districts, as well as organizations with “deep connections” to students and families and the ability to help reduce barriers and increase FAFSA submissions. He said it would be provided.
The department said the new FAFSA Student Assistance Strategic Fund will help schools and organizations add advisors, counselors and coaches to help students and families complete their applications through evenings, weekends and extended summer hours. Ta.
This funding will also help pay for FAFSA filing clinics through partnerships with schools and school districts, and transportation assistance will also be provided if needed. The program also improves communication, helping organizations utilize multilingual text messages, phone calls, and video conferencing to help families complete forms.
The department said the investment builds on existing efforts to help students and families complete the FAFSA, including the FAFSA College Support Strategy. The FAFSA College Support Strategy is another $50 million program that will launch in February 2024 and will focus on providing funding, advice, and support to under-resourced colleges and universities. Processes student financial aid information.
The Department of Education announced that nearly 9 million applications have been successfully submitted since the new form was launched on December 30th. This is currently down 24% from last year.