- Skip to main content
- About Us
- Contact Us
- FAQs
-  Language Assistance ****    - English
  - español
  - 中文: 繁體版
  - Việt-ngữ
  - 한국어
  - Tagalog
  - Русский 

U.S. Department of Education

U.S. Department of Education

        - Student Loans
        - Grants
        - Laws
        - Data

# U.S. Department of Education Deploys Federal Personnel, Funding, and Resources to Support Colleges, Students, and Families with Better FAFSA® 

# U.S. Department of Education Deploys Federal Personnel, Funding, and Resources to Support Colleges, Students, and Families with Better FAFSA® 

February 5, 2024

**Contact:  **press@ed.gov

                                    -        
The U.S. Department of Education (Department) today released a FAFSA College  Support Strategy to provide additional personnel, funding, resources, and  technology to help schools and students complete the better FAFSA form and to  help colleges prepare to process student records as quickly and accurately as  possible. The Department’s top priority is to ensure students can access the  maximum financial aid possible to help them pursue their higher education goals  and bring college in reach for more Americans. Since the new 2024–25 FAFSA form  became available on Dec. 30, more than 3.6 million forms have been successfully submitted.

The Department’s FAFSA College Support Strategy includes:
- Deploying federal personnel and expertise to help colleges prepare and process financial aid forms 
- Directing funding for technical assistance and support for under resourced colleges
- Releasing tools to help colleges prepare to quickly and accurately process student records and deliver financial aid packages

“Make  no mistake: the Better FAFSA is transformational,” said U.S. Secretary of  Education Miguel Cardona. “We are determined to get this right.  We must,  and we will.  Our hope is that these steps we’re announcing today are  going to go a long way toward helping colleges and universities make the most  of the Better FAFSA.”

The Department’s FAFSA College Support Strategy will particularly focus on  lower-resourced schools that may have a smaller number of administrative staff  and may utilize older software systems. The Department’s goal is to not only  deploy resources for colleges to accelerate the development of student aid  packages, but also to make sure students have adequate time to make important decisions  about their higher education options. As supported by the American Council on  Education and others, the Department welcomes institutions providing students  and families as much flexibility as possible and as much time as possible to  review aid offers to make enrollment decisions.

**Deploying federal personnel and expertise  to colleges**

The  Department will be deploying federal financial aid experts to a group of  lowered-resourced colleges to ensure these colleges have the tools and  information needed to process financial aid packages, understand the steps they  need to take to prepare, deliver direct on-campus support, and provide ongoing  consultations and trainings as needed. Through this effort, the Department  expects to serve Historically Black Colleges and Universities, tribal colleges  and universities, and colleges that are lower-resourced.

The Department is also standing up a  new concierge service within the office of Federal Student Aid, which will  provide a broad set of colleges direct contact with financial aid experts to  help to provide them personalized support based on an institution’s needs.  These federal liaisons, many of whom are former financial aid professionals, will answer questions and connect colleges to available resources.

**Providing funding for technical assistance  and on-the-ground support**

The Department is allocating $50  million in federal funding that will be provided to non-profit groups  specialized in financial aid support and services. These groups will use these  funds to recruit financial aid professionals to provide additional technical  assistance and support, beyond the federal teams deployed by the Department,  for under resourced colleges. Participating colleges will receive additional  staff support to deliver services such as assessing financial aid system  readiness and implementing necessary updates, training staff, developing aid  packages, and carrying out other student aid compliance requirements. The  federal funding will be administered by the Educational Credit Management  Corporation and will engage experienced nonprofits like the National  Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators and the Partnership for  Education Advancement.

**Releasing  data and tools to help colleges prepare to quickly and accurately process  student records, deliver financial aid packages**

The  Department will begin releasing test versions of institutional student  financial aid information records (ISIRs) within the next two weeks and  will be actively working with financial aid system developers so that colleges  and states can prepare their systems. These test ISIRs will enable colleges to  prepare their own systems and processes to efficiently assemble aid packages.

On  Friday, the Department began posting new data and resources to help schools drive FAFSA completion and improve the user experience for the new 2024–25  FAFSA. The Department released data by high school on their students’ 2024–25  FAFSA submissions, two months ahead of schedule. Originally planned to be  released starting in April 2024, the Department is now providing weekly updates  to allow high schools to track progress, target supports, and encourage their  students to submit a FAFSA form.

In addition, to continue to ensure the 2024–25 FAFSA form successfully improves  the user experience—particularly for students and their families—the Department  announced a new resource, at StudentAid.gov/fafsatips,  that gives FAFSA applicants and contributors tips to help them successfully complete and submit the 2024–25 FAFSA form.
   -  Tags: Press Releases
          How Do I Find...?    - Student loans, forgiveness
- Higher Education Rulemaking
- College accreditation
- Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
- FERPA
- FAFSA
- 1098, tax forms
- More...
      Information About...    - Elevating Teaching
- Early Learning
- Engage Every Student
- Unlocking Career Success
- Cybersecurity
Search press releasesSearch for:      Find By Month    - February 2024 
- January 2024 
- December 2023 
- November 2023 
- October 2023 
- September 2023 
- August 2023 
- July 2023 
- June 2023 
- May 2023 
- April 2023 
- March 2023 
- All Press Releases
             
*Our mission* is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.
- Student Loans
- Repaying Loans
- Defaulted Loans
- Loan Forgiveness
- Loan Servicers
- Grants & Programs
- Apply for Pell Grants
- Grants Forecast
- Apply for a Grant
- Laws & Guidance
- Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
- FERPA
- Civil Rights
- IDEA Website
- Data & Research
- Education Statistics
- Postsecondary Education Data
- ED Data Express
- Nation's Report Card
- What Works Clearinghouse
- Open Data Platform
- COVID Relief Data
- About Us
- Contact Us
- ED Offices
- Jobs
- Press Releases
- FAQs
- Recursos en español
- Budget, Performance
- Privacy Program
- Homeroom Blog
- Notices
- FOIA
- Privacy Policy
- Accessibility
- Security
- Information Quality
- Inspector General
- Whitehouse.gov
- USA.gov
- Benefits.gov
- Regulations.gov