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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By Marlene Seeklander If you’ve always wanted to provide feedback to the Department of Education on how the FAFSA processing system and services can be improved, you now have that opportunity. The Department of Education recently announced that they are gathering feedback from financial aid administrators and state agencies on the FAFSA processing systems and services
Financial Aid Processing Feedback Survey available Read More »
Higher Ed News Vol. 17 – Issue 13 Federal Student Aid announces webinars and additional resources for FSA Partner Connect Financial aid professionals will soon have some training resources available to help them understand and transition to FSA Partner Connect for enrollment and user management services. 2026-27 Student Aid Index (SAI) and Pell Grant Eligibility
Mapping Your Future Higher Ed News – June 26, 2025 Read More »
By Catherine Mueller Completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) can make the difference when it comes to pursuing your dreams for the future. For many students, who couldn’t otherwise afford the cost of an education, the FAFSA makes it possible. If you haven’t completed the 2025-26 FAFSA, here’s some reasons why you should:
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By Catherine Mueller Although many of the major stumbling blocks with the simplified FAFSA have been overcome, there have been a few remaining issues for students and parents. The Department of Education has now announced plans to fix two of those issues involving the identity verification and the contributor invite processes. Real-time identity verification – Starting
More steps toward simplification planned for the 2026-27 FAFSA Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander The Department of Education is among the federal offices that will be closed for the Independence Day federal holiday on Friday, July 4. The June 24 Electronic Announcement states that the Federal Student Aid (FSA) processors and contact centers will be closed on July 4. All FSA websites will be operational on the holiday. The FAFSA
Independence Day holiday closings Read More »
Tip of the Week More steps toward simplification planned for the 2026-27 FAFSA Although many of the major stumbling blocks with the simplified FAFSA have been overcome, there have been a few remaining issues for students and parents. The Department of Education has now announced plans to fix two of those issues involving the identity
Tip of the Week – June 25, 2025 Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander With the upcoming launch of the 2026-27 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, the Department of Education is now planning further steps to simplify the process. In a recent Electronic Announcement, the Department of Education shared some updates for the 2026-27 FAFSA, including two major changes: Starting August 4, the Department
Improvements planned for 2026-27 FAFSA; testing to begin in August Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Schools will soon see additional Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) functionality for the 2025-26 award year. The Department of Education announced that on June 29, 2025 additional COD System functionality will be implemented. The additional functionality will support the Campus-Based programs, along with the processing of Pell Grant, Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant,
2025-26 Award Year additional COD System implementation coming soon Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Financial aid professionals can now view some of the Federal Student Aid (FSA) webinars that they might have missed or want to view again. The Federal Update and Q&A webinars hosted by FSA this past spring are now available for viewing again. Financial aid professionals can also read the transcripts and review the
Federal Student Aid webinars update Read More »
