Tip of the Week
Government “shutdown” has limited impact on students, schools, borrowers, and other entities involved in the Title IV programs
The government shutdown – or lapse in appropriations to fund the federal government – will have a limited impact on students and schools, in particular, which is good news.
In an October 1 Electronic Announcement, the Department of Education addressed details about Federal Student Aid (FSA) processing, customer service centers, and other areas.
While the federal offices, including those in regional cities, are closed, most of the FSA processors, contact centers, and websites will remain operational.
Students and contributors are still able to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA) and the FAFSA Processing System (FPS) continues to accept data from schools and applicants and will process ISIRs and send FAFSA Submission Summaries.
The Electronic Announcement addresses detailed information on the impacted areas such as communications, customer service contact centers, processing systems, scheduled system outages, school oversight, oversight, and monitoring, training events, and negotiated rulemaking.
Individuals needing assistance during this lapse in appropriations are asked to contact the applicable customer service contact center, listed in the Help Center on the FSA Partner Connect website.
