By Marlene Seeklander Additional 2027-28 FAFSA resources are now available for staff training or financial aid presentations. Federal Student Aid announced the publication of several forms for the 2027-28 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) award year. All forms are available in both English and Spanish and include the following: 2027-28 FAFSA Form (PDF format)
2027-28 FAFSA resources now available Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Schools attempting to respond to borrower defense to repayment claims will find the system is currently unavailable. In an October 7 Electronic Announcement, Federal Student Aid (FSA) announced that after completing the transition of the Borrower Defense to Repayment functionality from the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) system to FSA Partner Connect on
Borrower Defense to Repayment functionality temporarily unavailable Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander The Department of Education is among the federal offices closed for the Columbus Day federal holiday on Monday, October 12. The October 6 Electronic Announcement states that the Federal Student Aid (FSA) offices and most contact centers will be closed on October 12. All FSA websites will be operational on the holiday. The
Columbus Day holiday closings for October 12 Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander In addition to verifying students for financial aid, schools must take action to verify that the appropriate staff have access to federal systems. In a recent Electronic Announcement, the Department reminds schools to verify user access for Federal Student Aid (FSA) systems and Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG) mailboxes by December 31. This
Access to FSA data systems contingent on confirmation of users Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander The national student loan default rate rose slightly from 0% to .4% – after remaining at 0% for the past three years. The Department of Education (the Department) released their FY 2023 national default briefing and, as expected, the FY 2023 cohort default rates were affected by the pause on federal
FY 2023 national default rate briefing released Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Financial aid offices received their latest student loan default rates in late September. The Department of Education announced the distribution of the FY 2023 official cohort default rate (CDR) notification packages to schools enrolled in the Electronic Cohort Default Rate (eCDR) process via the Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG) mailbox. The package included
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Tip of the Week Dealing with student loan nonrepayment It’s not just a financial aid office issue. While higher education institutions are dealing with recruitment, enrollment and retention on the front end, student loan default is sneaking up on the back end. The FY 2023 default rates were just released last week and remain low
Tip of the Week – October 7, 2026 Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Financial aid and college access professionals will want to review the 2027-28 FAFSA Presentation for a recent updated scenario. An October 5 update to a September 3 Electronic Announcement from Federal Student Aid (FSA) states that a missing slide about parent assets to the Dependent Student – Required Parent scenario has now been
2027-28 FAFSA Preview Presentation updated by Federal Student Aid Read More »
Higher Ed News Vol. 18 – Issue 20 Updated reports posted by Federal Student Aid to FSA Data Center Student loans now total more than $1.7 trillion with nearly 14 percent or $234 billion of the federal student loan portfolio in default. 2027-28 FAFSA now available for all students and contributors Students and parents can
Mapping Your Future Higher Ed News – October 1, 2026 Read More »
Early Awareness E-News October 2026Vol. 18 – Issue 10 2027-28 FAFSA now available for all students and contributors Students and parents can now complete the 2027-28 FAFSA – in advance of the Congressionally mandated release date of October 1. Mapping Your Future offers FAFSA Presentation video Students and parents preparing to complete the 2027-28 FAFSA
Early Awareness E-News – October 2026 Read More »
