FAFSA Simplification The 2024-2025 FAFSA Form - Experiencing Change Elimination of the save key and the addition of consent to transfer income data are among changes to the FAFSA form for 2024-2025.
FAFSA Simplification FAFSA Simplification & Federal Tax Income Student applicants for federal aid will no longer retrieve and upload income data for the FAFSA in 2024-2025, when the IRS will directly transfer the information.
Audit Requirements Audit Requirements Update By Rick Cox Popular topics at this year's virtual Federal Student Aid conference included updates on audit requirements for financial aid offices. Here are a few updates to keep an eye out for: Cash Management for HEERF (Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund) will be tested for the first time in
FSA covid-19 waivers COVID-19: What Now, What's Next By Rick Cox The January 15, 2021, electronic announcement from the U.S. Department of Education includes a chart of COVID waivers. This is a great resource. Many of these waivers are still in effect. Some of the waivers will sunset at the end of the payment period in which
Data Security FTC Safeguards Deadline Extended to June 2023 For certain provisions of the updated Safeguards Rule, the Federal Trade Commission has extended the compliance deadline by six months – to June 9, 2023 – in response to reports of personnel shortages and supply chain issues, mostly due to COVID-19. The original deadline to implement these changes was December 9, 2022.
FAFSA Simplification FAFSA Simplification & Recent Changes for 2023-2024 The latest requirements to help simplify the FAFSA affect Cost of Attendance and Professional Judgment. By Rick Cox The Department of Education has issued a Dear Colleague Letter on the requirements from the FAFSA Simplification Act that will be implemented for the 2023-2024 award year. Please see below for a
debt relief Q&A: Debt Relief & Eligible Loans The U.S. Department of Education has published an FAQ with more details on student loan forgiveness, including the types of loans eligible for one-time student debt relief. Here are a few highlights from the department’s new FAQ. Q. What loans qualify for debt relief? A. Most federal student
Constitution Day Resources for Constitution Day By Rick Cox This is just a friendly reminder that Constitution Day will be Saturday, September 17. The Consolidation Appropriations Act of 2005 requires institutions that receive federal funds to hold an education program on the Constitution on that day. However, because this falls on a Saturday, colleges should provide
debt relief Q&A: Debt Relief & the Loan Pause Recent decisions on student debt relief – including pausing loan repayments until the end of the year – mean borrowers with federal loans owned by the U.S. Department of Education are eligible for relief. We explain some of the ways the announcements affect borrowers and the financial aid community. Global will
student loans Payment Pause Extended By Rick Cox The Department of Education has announced that the payment pause for student loans has been extended for the final time through December 31, 2022. Additionally, the department announced targeted debt relief for some borrowers. Borrowers with annual income during the pandemic of less than $125,000 ($250,
A Comprehensive Guide to Verification for 2023-2024 Verification has returned for 2023-2024 after a year of waivers and reinstatements that were part of the effort to ease hardships from COVID-19 By Rick Cox On July 8, 2022, the U.S. Department of Education published the Federal Register and Dear Colleague Letter GEN-22-09 to announce verification requirements for
Gramm Leach Bliley Act GLBA & Updating Data Security Regulatory changes related to the Gramm-Leach Bliley Act that become effective December 9, 2022, will likely require colleges and universities to update and revise their security programs. The Federal Trade Commission, which enforces GLBA for higher education institutions, issued a final rule Federal Register in December 2021, with most GLBA
shorter college SAINT Solutions Deliver Student-Driven Technology Shorter College, a private, two-year liberal arts college in North Little Rock, Arkansas, needed a financial aid solution that was student-friendly and student driven. They also needed a seamless onboarding experience with a new third-party servicer. Before partnering with Global, Shorter College's financial aid staff spent time manually processing financial
Verification Waiver Continued By Rick Cox The Department of Education announced today that it has waived most of verification for the 2022-2023 award year, similar to what occurred in the 2021-2022 award year. Verification will still be required for identity and Statement of Educational Purpose. However, as a reminder, the department has suspended
Implementing the Stop Act Act establishes changes to help prevent third-party access to students’ financial aid records By Rick Cox The Stop Act, or the Stop Student Debt Relief Scams Act, was signed into law on December 22, 2020, and requires the U.S. Department of Education to take action to prevent improper use
FSA FSA: Top 10 Audit Findings, Plus IPEDS & Cybersecurity Popular topics in higher education include audit and program review findings, IPEDS and cybersecurity breaches at higher education institutions.
higher education Hot Topic Highlights in Financial Aid: Eligibility, HEERF & R2T4 FSA highlights on hot-topic issues in financial aid include institutional eligibility, HEERF spending and new Return to Title IV regulations
covid A Summary of Current and Expired COVID-19 Waivers By Rick Cox Some emergency relief for students and administrators because of the COVID-19 pandemic are still in effect and others have expired. Here’s a reminder of current and expired waivers. · Federal Work Study Program Community Service requirements are still waived. · From the Department of Education, if a student
Tax Data Transfer to Help Streamline FAFSA Process FAFSA simplification to be completed by 2024-2025; some measures implemented early, including Repeal of SULA By Rick Cox In a step toward simplification of the FAFSA, the FUTURE Act allows data sharing between the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Education. This will be used for: · The FAFSA; · Calculating
Verification Recap and a Look Ahead from FSATC 2021 By Rick Cox The FUTURE Act, which will help simplify the application for college student aid, allows data sharing between the U.S. Department of Education and the Internal Revenue Service. The requirements of this act will be implemented in phases until full implementation is achieved in the 2024-2025 award
FSATC2021 Federal Update from FSATC 2021 By Rick Cox Negotiated Rulemaking just concluded, and negotiators were unable to reach consensus on all of the issues of college affordability, school responsibility, and student loans. We should expect proposed rules next spring. The 2024-2025 award year should be when financial aid professionals begin to see the new Student
NSLDS News from the FSA Training Conference New website available in spring, plus more NSLDS updates By Rick Cox The Department of Education plans to introduce the new NSLDS website in spring 2022. The existing URL and login credentials will still be valid and will be used for accessing the National Student Loan Data System. When the
In Order to Form a More Perfect Union Resources for Constitution Day: Federally funded educational institutions must provide educational programs for students on Sept. 17 about the U.S. Constitution By Brenda Walton What is Constitution Day? Constitution Day is observed every year on September 17 to honor the signing and adoption of the Constitution of the United
Verification Returns for 2022-2023 Only high school completion status will not be a verification item; FAFSA information to be verified for the 2022-2023 award year By Rick Cox On September 1, 2021, the Department of Education announced that verification requirements will return for the 2022-2023 award year. This is a comprehensive article on verification
Summary Level Reporting for R2T4 Due Sept. 30 Summary level reporting for Return to Title IV funds not returned because of CARES Act relief must be posted no later than September 30, 2021. The reporting page on the COD website is available now. Information should be reported by program type (i.e., Pell, subsidized DL, unsubsidized DL, etc.
