By Marlene Seeklander Students and families, who understand a college’s cost of attendance, can better prepare for the expense. For colleges and universities, providing cost of attendance information is an important compliance issue. The Department of Education reminds Title-IV eligible schools in a December 2024 FSA Enforcement Bulletin that institutions must make cost of attendance information
By Marlene Seeklander Students and parents setting up an FSA ID find it easy to do so, but there are some important tips to avoid account problems in the future. Setting up an FSA ID (also known as creating a StudentAid.gov account) is the first step to complete the FAFSA. To assist students and parents with
Create your StudentAid.gov account updated flyer available Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Another tool is now available as you begin processing for the 2025-26 award year. The Department of Education announced that the Application and Verification Guide of the 2025-26 Federal Student Aid Handbook is now available. Financial aid administrators and counselors use this guide when helping students with the financial aid process, filing the
2025-26 FSA Handbook Application and Verification Guide now available Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander TEACH Grant recipients now have a streamlined process to manage their participation in the program. In a December 16 update to an earlier Electronic Announcement (LOANS-24-05), the Department of Education announced that the TEACH Grant Program has moved to StudentAid.gov and the processing of TEACH Grant forms has resumed. With this new process,
TEACH Grant processing update Read More »
Tip of the Week Reminder of COD peak processing times Delays in COD processing can be frustrating as you prepare to disburse aid, so you may want to make note of the peak processing times. In a recent announcement, the Department of Education reminds schools that starting in January, processing for the 2024-25 award year
Tip of the Week – December 18, 2024 Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Delays in COD processing can be frustrating as you prepare to disburse aid, so you may want to make note of the peak processing times. In a recent announcement, the Department of Education reminds schools that starting in January, processing for the 2024-25 award year will ramp up. A few reminders to help
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By Catherine Mueller Creating a StudentAid.gov account isn’t difficult but sometimes a few tips will make the process easier. Setting up an account at StudentAid.gov, is also known as creating an FSA ID, which is the username and password for the account. Students and generally at least one parent will need to create one in order to
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By Marlene Seeklander Hopefully, your holiday list doesn’t include working on Christmas or New Year’s day, but if you do, be aware that some Federal Student Aid offices are taking a break or will have modified hours. Federal Student Aid (FSA) announced that their federal offices and Federal Student Aid processors and contact centers will be
Christmas and New Year’s holiday hours for Federal Student Aid and Mapping Your Future Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Students who plan to attend a South Dakota public university may soon need to meet a new civics proficiency requirement to graduate. At the December South Dakota Board of Regents meeting, an initiative was announced to ensure that students are prepared to actively participate in civic life once they graduate. This new initiative,
South Dakota public universities may have a new Civics graduation requirement Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Students and families needing FAFSA assistance now have more opportunities available to contact the FAFSA Call Center. The FAFSA Call Center is offering expanded hours, including evenings and weekends, which started November 22 and extend through March 2, 2025. In addition, English and Spanish speaking agents are available, as well as interpretation services in
FAFSA Call Center extended hours available Read More »
