Author name: Marlene Seeklander

FAFSA handwritten in a note. Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

Students completing the FAFSA to be notified about colleges with lower earnings

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By Marlene Seeklander Students completing the FAFSA now have additional information when deciding which college they may want to attend. In a December 8 Electronic Announcement, the Department of Education announced the implementation of a new lower earnings indicator as part of the FAFSA. This indicator—effective December 7, 2025, and only applicable to first-year undergraduate students—provides

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FAFSA field adjustment resolves issue of reporting an address within the U.S. territories

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By Marlene Seeklander FAFSA users who previously encountered an issue when attempting to report their address within the U.S. territories, including Puerto Rico, should no longer encounter an issue. In a December 4 Electronic Announcement, the Department of Education announced that on December 7 an update to adjust some users’ state and country  code information was

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Using the new Section 117 Reporting Portal training webinar

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By Marlene Seeklander Colleges that need to report foreign gifts and contracts will want to make note of an upcoming training webinar. In a December 5 Electronic Announcement, the Department of Education announced that they are offering a training webinar, “Using the New Section 117 Reporting Portal” for schools required to report foreign gifts and contracts.

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Mapping Your Future Higher Ed News – December 4, 2025

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Higher Ed News Vol. 17 – Issue 24 Keeping up the FAFSA momentum After years of hard work among financial aid and college access professionals, it was precious good news.   2026-2027 FAFSA information to be verified and acceptable documentation Financial aid professionals can now plan for the upcoming FAFSA verification season with the latest

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Department of Education to debut new portal for institutional reporting of foreign gifts and contracts

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By Marlene Seeklander With a deadline looming, higher education officials will need to get skilled on using a new portal for reporting foreign gifts and contracts. On January 2, 2026, the Department of Education (ED) will launch a new Section 117 reporting portal, in which they said they “have attempted to incorporate many comments provided by

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New COD Common Record XML Schema Version 5.0d now available

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By Marlene Seeklander Schools will want to make note that a new version of the COD Common Record Extensible Markup Language (XML) Schema 5.0d is now available. In a November 25 Electronic Announcement, the Department of Education stated that in spring 2026, they will implement Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) functionality that will support the processing

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Enhancements coming to the E-App in FSA Partner Connect

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By Marlene Seeklander Financial aid professionals will soon see updates to the Application for Approval to Participate in the Federal Student Financial Assistance Programs, also known as the E-App. In a November 26 Electronic Announcement, the Department of Education outlined the updates that will be implemented on December 7, 2025 and are designed to improve the

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Federal Student Aid reschedules Charges and Credit Balances webinar

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By Marlene Seeklander Financial aid professionals will soon have the opportunity to watch the cash management webinar – Charges and Credit Balances. In an update to an earlier Electronic Announcement, FSA announced that the Charges and Credit Balances webinar has been rescheduled and will be held on Wednesday, December 10, from 1:00-2:30 p.m. (Eastern). No registration

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