Editor’s word: This story is growing and will likely be up to date.
The Free Software for Federal Scholar Assist for the 2025-26 educational yr will likely be absolutely accessible by Dec. 1 — two months later than the shape’s typical debut, in response to an announcement Wednesday from the U.S. Division of Schooling.
Beginning Oct. 1, the Schooling Division will take a look at the brand new kind with a restricted variety of college students and establishments. This phased strategy is aimed toward guaranteeing full performance when the shape absolutely launches, officers mentioned in a information launch.
The delay comes after a fraught monetary assist cycle.
The Schooling Division launched a brand new FAFSA kind for the 2024-25 educational yr in late December — roughly three months later than typical.
Per a congressional mandate, the Schooling Division revamped the applying with the goal of creating it simpler for households and college students to fill out. However the rollout was tormented by power delays and technical points.
Company officers forged the second delay in two years as a option to keep away from these issues for the subsequent assist cycle.
Throughout a name with reporters Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of Schooling Miguel Cardona confused that the Schooling Division has made latest strikes to vary the operations and oversight of the Federal Scholar Assist workplace, which manages the FAFSA.
“Following a difficult 2024-25 FAFSA cycle, the Division listened fastidiously to the enter of scholars, households, and better training establishments, made substantial adjustments to management and operations at Federal Scholar Assist, and is taking a brand new strategy this yr that can considerably enhance the FAFSA expertise,” Cardona mentioned in a Wednesday assertion.
In June, the Schooling Division introduced on Jeremy Singer, who’s taking a short lived depart of absence from his function as president of the Faculty Board to function the company’s FAFSA govt advisor for the 2025-26 kind.
“Our staff at FSA remains to be laborious at work attempting to handle the problems from the previous yr, and we have recognized areas working with this staff which are going to be totally different as we transfer into the brand new yr,” Singer mentioned throughout a name with reporters on Wednesday. “Specifically, we have realized there’s a lot that we will do to enhance testing.”
When the shape launches, Singer mentioned, “key options will likely be accessible on day one.”
Meaning college students will be capable of submit FAFSA varieties and faculties will be capable of obtain their applicant knowledge — info that’s key to creating monetary assist packages. College students and faculties may also be capable of instantly make any corrections wanted to their FAFSAs.
This previous assist cycle, the Schooling Division didn’t begin sending FAFSA applicant knowledge to schools till March — sharply compressing the time faculties needed to compile assist packages. This knowledge is often accessible shortly after the FAFSA opens on Oct. 1.
Many establishments wound up pushing again the standard scholar dedication deadline of Could 1 due to the delay.
College students additionally couldn’t submit corrections to their FAFSA varieties till April.
And delays have continued late into the help cycle. Simply final week, the Schooling Division instructed faculties they wouldn’t be capable of submit batch corrections for the 2024-25 FAFSA, that means officers must submit them manually for every kind.
It made that transfer to focus its sources on the 2025-26 FAFSA, a senior division official mentioned in the course of the name with reporters, including that the company realizes that this put an additional burden on faculties.
The testing interval for the 2025-26 FAFSA will start with a whole lot of scholars on Oct. 1, earlier than progressing to tens of 1000’s of scholars in November, Singer mentioned. These submissions will set off deliveries of FAFSA knowledge to schools.
“It will floor bugs and points that we can deal with earlier than the applying is open to the total public,” Singer mentioned.
The Schooling Division will work with faculties, excessive colleges and different organizations to ask college students to take part within the testing course of, a senior division official mentioned.
The information was met with blended reactions Wednesday from larger training teams and lawmakers.
Beth Maglione, interim president and CEO of the Nationwide Affiliation of Scholar Monetary Assist Directors, mentioned in an announcement that an Oct. 1 debut would have been ideally suited.
“However given the place we’re within the course of, and the challenges which have plagued this yr’s rollout, we’d somewhat wait till December 1 to permit time for the required testing to make sure a practical system,” Maglione mentioned.
Catherine Brown, senior director of coverage and advocacy on the Nationwide Faculty Attainment Community, echoed these feedback.
“This delayed launch date isn’t what we had hoped, provided that in years previous, 50% of FAFSAs had been filed previous to the top of the calendar yr,” Brown mentioned in an announcement.
However Brown famous that the transfer is according to an earlier suggestion from NCAN and different larger training teams. These organizations, which included NASFAA, urged the Schooling Division to “conduct the required testing” on the brand new kind — even when that meant transferring the discharge to “as late as” Dec. 1.
Rep. Virginia Foxx, chair of the Home training committee, panned the announcement, blaming the delay on the Schooling Division’s efforts to cancel scholar debt.
“Making certain a working, well timed, and correct FAFSA ought to have been the Biden-Harris administration’s precedence from day one,” the North Carolina Republican mentioned in an announcement Wednesday. “As a substitute, it has frequently proven that unlawful debt switch schemes are much more necessary than guaranteeing low-income college students can afford school.”
The Home Committee on Schooling and the Workforce just lately superior a invoice that may mandate the Schooling Division to launch the FAFSA by Oct. 1 annually. At present, the company has till Jan. 1 to make the shape accessible however has traditionally launched it Oct. 1. The invoice awaits flooring motion within the Home.
