Financial aid plan creates confusion
Federal application process troubling for students, colleges
The rollout of the new federal college financial aid application has been riddled with problems, from a delay in the launch to technical glitches that have sent students and parents to a helpline with hourslong wait times.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid — FAFSA — is used to apply for financial aid from the federal government. Other entities, including colleges and universities, also use the data provided in the form to determine financial aid packages for students.
Marc Vernon, director of financial aid, scholarships and military and veteran benefits at Virginia Peninsula Community College, said his staff has been working with students over the past couple of months.
“We have seen an influx of students and parents coming in, saying, ‘We’re frustrated, we don’t understand, this is complicated,’ ” Vernon said.
The new application is the result of the FAFSA Simplification Act of 2020, a series of reforms passed by Congress to, in part, make applying for financial aid easier. It is shorter and officials have said it can be completed in as little as 15 minutes. Part of the changes include importing income information directly from the IRS.
But the issues — including a mistake in updating the income formula that determines how much aid a student can get — means that schools won’t receive the information collected from FAFSA until March or April. Typically, the forms are available around the start of the school year and Vernon said that FAFSA data would be provided to schools as early as October or November. The delay, he said, means that students won’t receive their financial aid offers until shortly
before they are expected to make enrollment decisions. It’s particularly concerning for four-year institutions, which usually make their offers early to compete for top students.
In a call with reporters this week, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona announced new steps that will make it easier for schools to process student data and provide more resources to answer students’ questions. Verification requirements such as for income and identity, which fall on higher education institutions, Vernon said, have been reduced. The department has also suspended program compliance reviews for this year.
Additionally, the department will trial-test the system by today to ensure the process is working by March and April.
Officials previously announced that federal personnel would be sent to help “under-resourced” colleges and $50 million would be allocated for technical assistance and support.
There have been calls for colleges and universities to extend their financial aid and enrollment deadlines, and several have. Old Dominion University announced Wednesday it will extend admissions deposit and housing deadlines for all first-year students by one month until June 1. The early action deadline has also been extended a month to May 28.
The early action deadline allows students to apply for housing earlier than the rest of the student body. Students will also be allowed to cancel housing reservations at no cost until June 15.
“We are committed to meeting students and parents where they are in their college decision-making journey by extending the time needed to make an informed choice,” said Ashley Miller, ODU associate vice president for enrollment management.
About 4 million people have completed the application since it launched on Dec. 30. Typically, about 17 million students complete the application each year. Miller said in Virginia, one of the larger issues concerning officials is that only half as many students in the state have completed the FAFSA compared to the same time last year.
Despite the hiccups, VPCC’s Vernon said he “100%” believes the new application will be an improvement once the glitches are fixed.
“It increases eligibility, it simplifies the financial aid application process and more people will benefit from it.”