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FAFSA - Where do we go from here?

Dr. Samantha Hicks, Coastal Carolina University & Kurt Reilly, AwardSpring • November 21, 2024

As many students, parents, and educational administrators alike know, the rollout of the new 2024-2025 Free Application For Student Aid (FAFSA) has brought about an array of changes for those applying to college, including some concerning delays.


Notable Changes

In 2023, the U.S. Education Department made several changes to the FAFSA, including the especially notable replacement of the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) with the Student Aid Index (SAI), changing how financial need is determined. A student’s SAI can range from –1500 to 999999, and it is used to calculate how much and what type of aid a student can receive. 


Key Issues

Although the FAFSA changes were intended to improve the college application and financial aid process for students, their rollout came with issues such as glitches and technical errors. While the FAFSA was made available to most students by January 2024, many aid applicants were still faced with significant barriers. The Department of Education announced several issues that further exacerbated the troublesome rollout of the “new FAFSA”: 


  • Many students from mixed-status families with parents who may not have a Social Security Number (SSN) were unable to submit a form online; several of these students were directed to fill out a paper FAFSA form, only to be told that the Department had (and still has) no timeline for processing paper FAFSA forms.
  • In late January, the Department announced that they were unable to process submitted forms until March and that the ability to make corrections to a FAFSA would not be available until later in the summer. 
  • In March 2024, the Department announced that there was a miscalculation with the SAI formula in some processed FAFSAs, requiring many forms to be reprocessed in April. 
  • In August, the Department announced that a key functionality, an institution’s ability to make corrections to FAFSA submissions in batch through their student information system, would not be available for the 2024-2025 academic year, requiring institutions to manually correct any FAFSA submissions through the FAFSA Partner Portal.

Impact

The issues with FAFSA affected student financial aid application rates, as the National College Attainment Network (NCAN) reports that as of July, 12, only 47.2% of the high school class of 2024 has completed the FAFSA—a 10.9% decline from the previous year’s 54.2%. Even more concerning are the disparities between low-income student filer rate compared to their counterparts from families with higher incomes. This is especially significant because according to the NCAN, submitting a FAFSA is one of the best predictors of whether a senior will attend college. 


Many institutions of higher education have experienced decreases in either overall student populations and/or decreases in particular demographics. Enrollment professionals are left to wonder if these decreases can directly be attributed to the issues with the rollout of the FAFSA. Even more are asking if there are students who were unable to attend college because of the FAFSA issues, and if there is any chance of ever seeing them earn a degree of higher education.


Responses

In response to these issues, many states and schools delayed their filing deadlines in order to give students and families more time to fill out the FAFSA. Although the postponements allowed applicants more time with the FAFSA, they also created some very tight timelines for students relying on financial aid news to make their college decisions. Indeed, the U.S. Department of Education recently reported that some students did not even receive their final financial aid award letter until the end of August.


Institutions of higher education have been faced with increasing workloads, staff shortages, and limited resources during a time where they have also been asked to assist with increasing FAFSA filer rates. Despite the challenges, many institutions have developed creative outreach campaigns, workshops, websites, and more to assist students and families through the financial aid process.


Looking Forward

Currently, the FAFSA deadline for the 2024-2025 academic year is still June 30, 2025. It is imperative that students get the help and support that they need to submit the FAFSA by this deadline. There are still students and families who are working through the financial aid application process and deserve the opportunity to access financial aid to assist in their college journey. There are also still opportunities to learn valuable lessons from the 2024-2025 rollout to implement new strategies for the remainder of the year and beyond.


Recommendations


  1. Connect with students and families who are still in the process. Identifying students who have not yet been awarded aid or are in the process of still attempting to enroll in college (mid-year transfers, deferred admissions, bridge program admits, etc.) and finding creative strategies to connect with them may prove beneficial to bolstering enrollment and retention rates, especially for institutions who have seen declines in enrollment demographics. One example is to look for opportunities to connect with needy students through the reallocation of unspent scholarship funds. Identifying scholarship opportunities that may have unspent funding that can be re-allocated specifically to students who are still trying to enroll in college may prove beneficial. AwardSpring’s platform makes the identification of eligible students for reallocation, awarding of funds, and communication of awards easy and seamless.
  2. Communicate, communicate, communicate. One of the results of the FAFSA issues of 2024-2025 was the need for increased communication. Students and parents want information about schools’ scholarships and aid processes. Partners should look at the communication required to implement the changes for 2024-2025 and consider how to develop a robust communication plan for next year and beyond.
  3. Be proactive. In 2024-2025, many higher education institutions were left with no other choice but to react to the many issues and delays from the FAFSA. As the Department of Education has announced that the 2025-2026 FAFSA will also be delayed until December 1st, institutions have an opportunity to be proactive moving into the next academic year. Institutions should consider proactive strategies to educate students and families on the FAFSA processes, develop campaign strategies to increase FAFSA filing rates, form partnerships with school counselors and scholarship organizations, adjust scholarship FAFSA requirements prior to application cycles opening, create communication plans, etc.

The 2024-2025 FAFSA cycle was indeed challenging. Challenges, however, often lead to growth and learning. As institutions begin to look forward to new aid cycles, the lessons learned during 2024-2025 will be invaluable to implement innovative strategies for meeting enrollment and retention goals.

AwardSpring Blog

Promoting your Scholarships: Embrace your Inner Marketer

By Kurt Reilly • September 18, 2024
Making the most of a scholarship program requires getting as many qualified applicants as possible. The first step is getting the word out to potential applicants about the scholarship(s) you have to offer. Higher education institutions, foundations, and corporations alike can all use marketing strategies to promote their scholarships, but each requires a different, tailored approach. The first section below focuses on strategies to employ for our College & University partners. If you're at a foundation, corporation, or other organization, we've tailored idea for you further below. Regardless of your institution or background, the ideas across both sections may apply.

Navigating the FAFSA Simplification Act: What It Means for Students and Institutions

By Jill Murphy • February 8, 2024
The FAFSA Simplification Act has brought about significant changes to the financial aid landscape, ushering in a new era in the FAFSA application process. While you’re likely familiar with the details, let's take a moment to recap the key highlights of this transformative legislation. Key Changes: Transition to SAI: The cornerstone of the FAFSA Simplification Act is the replacement of the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) with the Student Aid Index (SAI). This shift aims to provide a more nuanced assessment of financial need, offering flexibility with SAI values, including the possibility of negative figures down to -1500. SAR to FSS: Another notable change is the rebranding of the Student Aid Report (SAR) as the FAFSA Submission Summary (FSS), reflecting the evolving nature of the application process. Negative SAI and PELL Grant Eligibility: One of the significant departures from the previous system is the allowance for negative SAIs. This change necessitates adjustments in how institutions package students for need-based aid. Additionally, PELL grant eligibility will now be determined using criteria separate from the FAFSA and resultant SAI, with the incorporation of IRS tax return data where feasible. As you embark to adapt these new protocols, it's essential to remain informed and proactive in navigating the evolving landscape of higher education finance. As an AwardSpring partner, we’ve made suggestions on how to leverage these changes to better support students on their educational journeys and ensure access to the opportunities they deserve. AwardSpring offers the following recommendations to guide institutions through this process: Recommendation #1: Expected Family Contribution (EFC) to Student Aid Index (SAI) The most consequential change to teams that are putting together Financial Aid packages or making scholarship awarding decisions are the EFC to SAI transition. We recommend you consider one of two options: Option 1: Re-label existing EFC fields as SAI to maintain continuity in data collection If you choose to re-label existing EFC fields, be mindful that doing so may impact historical data analysis, requiring a clear understanding by the consumers of any reports of the transition from EFC to SAI effective the date you make this conversion Option 2: Keep your existing EFC fields for historical purposes and create a new SAI field In this instance, you’ll need a thorough review of all of your qualifications and/or awarding decision-making processes to ensure SAI is being used and EFC is properly retired Notables: In the case where you’re using our SIS Integration feature, we’ll want to coordinate which path you’ve chosen so we can update the import process accordingly AwardSpring currently doesn’t allow our numeric fields to go negative creating a gap between the new SAI protocol and our existing numeric fields. We’ll be addressing this in a March, 2024 release so you can capture negative SAI values, if desired In either case, you’ll want to review scholarship qualifications tied to EFC and/or SAI, and ensure compatibility with the possibility of negative SAI values Recommendation #2: Student Aid Report (SAR) to FAFSA Submission Summary (FSS) Much like repurposing EFC for SAI in our first recommendation, you have another consideration with SAR vs. FSS: Option 1: Evaluate the option of re-labeling existing SAR upload fields as FSS to streamline data collection recognize that this adjustment repurposes the field, necessitating careful consideration of historical data interpretation Option 2: Alternatively, create separate fields to accommodate the transition, albeit with potential rework depending on your unique configuration and whether you utilize SIS Integration Recommendation #3: Other FAFSA Fields There’s more variability here since you may have a wide degree of fields to consider. You should tailor any changes based on the specific field type, whether it’s being used as a qualification, and whether you’d need to make corresponding changes in your SIS. Summary Proactive assessment and strategic adaptation of FAFSA-related questions are crucial to seamlessly transition to the new framework outlined by the FAFSA Simplification Act. By carefully considering these recommendations, you can ensure alignment with regulatory changes while maintaining efficiency and accuracy in financial aid processes. As always, if you’d like to talk with our expert staff, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at support@awardspring.com.
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