Department of Education

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2026-27 processing cycle learning tracks available from Federal Student Aid

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By Marlene Seeklander Financial aid professionals have additional training resources available as they work with 2026-27 FAFSA data. Federal Student Aid (FSA) recently released several Learning Tracks that will assist financial aid professionals as they receive and review 2026-27 FAFSA data. The new Learning Tracks include: To check out these learning opportunities, log into the FSA […]

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Closeout deadline for 2024-25 Direct Loan Program year

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By Marlene Seeklander Schools that have not yet closed out their 2024-25 Direct Loan Program year need to make note of the upcoming closeout deadline. A March 18 Electronic Announcement reminds schools that Friday, July 31, 2026, is the closeout deadline and last processing day before the end of the program year. This means that all

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Computer keyboard with a yellow key marked Training.

2026 FSA Training Conference session recordings now available

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By Marlene Seeklander Financial aid professionals and other industry partners who were unable to attend the recent FSA Training Conference can now view the session recordings. In a March 20 Electronic Announcement, Federal Student Aid (FSA) announced that the session recordings from the recent FSA Training Conference are now available at the following: In the announcement,

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First step taken to move federal student loan administration to U.S. Treasury

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The U.S. Department of Treasury will begin collecting on defaulted federal student loan loans in what is intended as the first step move federal student loans out of the Department of Education. On March 19, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) announced the interagency agreement. Under the

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Department of Education releases NSLDS layout changes to accommodate new financial aid requirements

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By Marlene Seeklander The Department of Education released new NSLDS layout changes to help the industry prepare for the financial aid procedures required by last year’s federal budget reconciliation. On March 12, the Department of Education announced the availability of the updated NSLDS Transfer Student Monitoring & Financial Aid History User Guide and Record Layouts. A

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Department of Education publishes “E-App User Guide”

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By Marlene Seeklander Schools now have a user resource available to them when completing an important application process for participating in the federal aid programs. The Department of Education has created the “Application for Approval to Participate in Federal Student Financial Aid Programs User Reference Guide” for completing what is commonly referred to as the E-App.

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2025-26 FSA Handbook Appendices now available, Department of Education to seek input on future content

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By Marlene Seeklander The Department of Education released new content for the FSA Handbook and announced it will be seeking input from financial aid professionals as they “reimagine the content” of the handbook. In a March 16 Electronic Announcement, the Department announced the availability of the Appendices of the 2025-26 Federal Student Aid Handbook and said

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Tiles spelling Student Loan Debt. Cash bills and a calculator.

Number of student loan borrowers in default matching pre-pandemic levels

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By Catherine Mueller Nearly 8 million student loan borrowers with $180 billion federal student loans are in default, according to the latest data from the Department of Education. The number of defaulted borrowers mirrors the count from December 2019, prior to the payment pause, when 7.7 million recipients with approximately $168 billion in federal student loans

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Comments sought on proposed changes to Federal Pell Grant program regulations

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By Marlene Seeklander The Secretary of Education is seeking comments on proposed regulatory changes impacting the Federal Pell Grant program. In a Federal Register Notice published on March 9, 2026, the Secretary proposes to amend the Federal Pell Grant program regulations in order to implement changes that were part of the Budget Reconciliation Bill that was

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FAFSA processing updates resulting from the Budget Reconciliation Bill

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By Marlene Seeklander Schools, state agencies, and vendors need to be aware of updates coming in April 2026 to various Department of Education systems resulting from the Budget Reconciliation Bill. In a March 9 Electronic Announcement, the Department of Education outlined updates that will be implemented to several Federal Student Aid (FSA) systems and the

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