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# U.S. Department of Education Announces Latest Steps to Support Schools and Students with Better FAFSA

# U.S. Department of Education Announces Latest Steps to Support Schools and Students with Better FAFSA

February 13, 2024

**Contact:  **press@ed.gov

                                    -        U.S. Department of Education Announces Latest Steps to Support Schools and Students with Better FAFSA®		
The U.S. Department of Education (Department) today announced  additional steps to help colleges prepare to process student financial aid  forms as efficiently 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, nearly 4 million  forms have been successfully submitted.

The new steps announced today will make it easier for schools to  process records and spend more time helping students by considerably reducing  verification requirements, suspending routine school compliance reviews, and  providing flexibility on renewing participation in the federal student aid  programs. In addition, by Feb. 16, the Department will release test  versions of Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs) for schools to  prepare their systems and launch open-source tools to support institutions  using test ISIRs. These steps build upon the FAFSA College Support Strategy, which U.S.  Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona announced last week. Under this strategy,  the Department is deploying federal personnel to support under-resourced  colleges, standing up a concierge service, allocating $50 million in funding  for technical assistance and support, and releasing tools to help institutions  prepare.

“We are determined to drive a constant drumbeat of action to  fulfill the transformational potential of the Better FAFSA,” said U.S.  Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, “The steps we’re announcing today build  on the Better FAFSA College Support Strategy by making it easier for colleges  and universities to get financial aid packages to students and families as  quickly as possible. We will strive to leave no stone unturned to make this  FAFSA process easier and simpler for colleges, universities, and students.”

**Making it easier and more efficient for schools to process student records**

Today, the Department is announcing steps to help colleges  process student records faster and more efficiently. This includes: 
- Significantly reducing verification requirements.  This year, the Department will be significantly       reducing verification requirements, while continuing key measures focused       on avoiding identity fraud. In past years, the Department selected a much       larger portion of FAFSA applicants for colleges to verify. More recently,       the Department has gradually reduced that verification rate to more       effectively target verification efforts while alleviating burdens for       millions of students and thousands of schools. With the       implementation of the direct data exchange with the IRS, made possible by       this year’s overhauled FAFSA form, the Department is receiving the vast       majority of income data directly from the IRS, which will not need to be verified. This       year’s significant reduction in verifications will reduce the burden for       colleges and students while continuing to protect against fraud. 
- Suspending new routine program reviews.   As part of its oversight duties, the Department       routinely conducts program reviews to confirm a college meets the       Department’s requirements for institutional eligibility, financial       responsibility, and administrative capability. The Department will suspend       all new program reviews through June 2024, except for those related to the       most serious issues like suspected fraud or a severe breach of fiduciary       duty. Institutions with an ongoing program review can also request       extensions for responses to program reviews, reports, or requests for       additional documentation. This flexibility will reduce the time that       colleges’ financial aid offices need to devote to producing documentation       and responding to Department inquiries during the time they need to focus       on quickly getting aid award offers to students. 
- Providing additional flexibility on recertification.  Institutions are currently required to recertify       eligibility for the Department’s federal student aid programs no later       than 90 days before their Program Participation Agreement (PPA) expires.       The Department will waive that 90-day requirement for schools whose PPA       expires in March, June, or September 2024, meaning these schools have       until their expiration day to submit a recertification application.       Providing this flexibility will give time back to institutions at a       critical moment and enable them to focus their resources on getting       students the aid they need. 

**Deploying  expertise, funding, and tools to help colleges make the most of Better FAFSA**

These steps build upon the work underway to support colleges and  students through the Department’s FAFSA College Support Strategy:
- Deploying federal personnel.   The Department’s office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) is       deploying teams of federal experts to under-resourced schools. Through       this effort, the Department will serve colleges that need additional       personalized help, including HBCUs and TCUs that would like the support.       Schools will be selected based on a number of criteria, including       percentage of Pell students, resource constraints, and other indications       of need. Starting this week, FSA will be reaching out to a first set of       schools to offer support and expects to start deploying teams in the next       two weeks. In addition, over the past week, the Department has created a       new concierge service within FSA, which is providing a broad set of       colleges direct contact with financial aid experts to provide them personalized       support based on the institution’s needs
- Dedicating funding to provide technical assistance and       support.  The Department is allocating $50 million in federal       funding that will be provided to non-profit groups specializing 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. 
- Delivering test student financial aid records by the       end of the week.  By Feb. 16, the       Department will begin releasing test versions of Institutional Student       Information Records (ISIRs). These test ISIRs will enable colleges and       their critical partners to prepare their own systems and processes to       efficiently assemble aid packages. In addition, the Department will also       provide open-source tools to support institutions using test ISIRs. 
-  Tags: Federal Student Aid (FSA)Press Releases

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