By Marlene Seeklander Learning the fundamentals is essential for anyone taking on a new job, but it’s especially true in the world of financial aid. On July 1, the Department of Education announced the launch of Federal Student Aid’s (FSA) 2025–26 FSA Fundamentals Training Series. This training series consists of two courses: Participants must successfully complete the FSA
2025–26 FSA Fundamentals Training Series launched Read More »
Tip of the Week Summary of Budget Reconciliation Changes for Students and Parents When it comes to paying for college, many students and parents face uncertainty. Will there be enough money and is this college the right decision? Along with those questions, throw in some future changes with the budget reconciliation bill and it could
Tip of the Week – July 9, 2025 Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Financial aid administrators will want to take note of additional information that will help them prepare for an important upcoming implementation for registering new users. The Department of Education announced on July 2 that FSA Partner Connect will include the expanded features on July 14. The Department previously announced that FSA Partner Connect
By Marlene Seeklander More training opportunities from the convenience of your office are coming your way. A recent announcement from Federal Student Aid (FSA) reminds schools of two upcoming Wednesday Webinars. These include: No registration is required for the webinars as each session can accommodate up to 20,000 attendees. The webinars will be hosted with Microsoft’s Town Hall
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By Marlene Seeklander U.S. Colleges that are associated with a foreign source either through ownership or other business relationships face an important deadline later this month. The Department of Education reminded institutions in a recent Electronic Announcement that the deadline for submitting disclosure reports is Thursday, July 31, 2025. Failure to comply with the reporting requirement
Deadline for reporting foreign interests nearing Read More »
Tip of the Week Fireworks and financial aid Working in financial aid – or in some aspect of education – can sometimes feel like a fireworks display. Sometimes exciting and sometimes scary. There are days when a co-worker or student says or does something that makes you feel like you’re on top of the world
Tip of the Week – July 2, 2025 Read More »
Early Awareness E-News July 2025Vol. 17 – Issue 7 Direct Loan interest rates for loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2025 announced Student loan borrowers will see slightly lower interest rates starting July 1 for Direct Loans borrowed on or after July 1, 2025. Updated interest rate information available on Mapping Your Future
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By Marlene Seeklander EDExpress for Windows users have a new service release available for their use. In a June 27 Electronic Announcement, Federal Student Aid announced a new service release for EDExpress for Windows 2025–26, Release 2.0 in the Software and Other Tools area of the Knowledge Center. This release added the functionality for schools to report student Federal
EDExpress for Windows 2025-26, Release 2.0 Service Release now available Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander During your senior year, you finalized your college choice. This year was filled with admission applications, scholarship essays, financial aid information, and deadlines. Below are the tasks you should complete during the month of July: Congratulations! It’s time to get ready to start college.
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By Catherine Mueller No one enters college with a plan to fail. Well, at least no one who is serious about their education. However, some students do fail – despite their desire to succeed. What do successful students do to achieve their educational goals? Successful students employ strategies to master the art of being a good
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