By Marlene Seeklander The 2025-26 FAFSA is now officially available, 10 days before the Department of Education’s December 1 goal. The Department of Education made the announcement on November 21 that the online FAFSA form is available to all students and families at fafsa.gov. The Department is processing and sending FAFSA records to schools. The paper […]
2025-26 FAFSA is now available to all students Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander As you prepare for the 2025-26 award year, you may want to implement the new College Financing Plan template. The Department of Education recently announced the release of the 2025-26 College Financing Plan (CFP), formerly known as the Financial Aid Shopping Sheet, a tool that colleges can use to notify students about their
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By Marlene Seeklander For those higher education professionals managing their college’s Title IV funds checkbook, the job comes with some critical compliance duties. In a November 18 Electronic Announcement, the Department of Education reminds schools of the general disbursement reporting, excess cash, and reconciliation requirements for all Title IV programs. The Department suggests that both the
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By Catherine Mueller The 2025-26 FAFSA is now available to anyone wanting to complete form – even though the beta-testing period is still underway. Last week, the Department of Education announced that “building on successful testing results” this fall it would expand the online beta testing period to all users before officially releasing the form by
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By Marlene Seeklander The Federal School Code List – a key component of the FAFSA – has been updated by the Department of Education. The Department announced the availability of the 2025–26 Federal School Code (FSC) List of Participating Schools. Students enter these codes on the FAFSA in order for the postsecondary schools to receive their
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By Marlene Seeklander The first step to complying with new regulations is learning how to comply. Training is key. And the Department of Education announced that, as a result of feedback and questions received, they are offering a supplemental training resource to help schools comply with the FVT/GE reporting requirements and review of the Completers List
By Marlene Seeklander Anyone who works in financial aid knows there’s always more to learn. Training opportunities can be an invaluable resource to financial aid professionals. The Federal Student Aid Training Center has announced two new training tracks, including: Prison Education Programs Learning Track – This track has been updated with new guidance and outlines the
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By Marlene Seeklander It’s an important responsibility for financial aid professionals. Knowing how to properly use and protect the sensitive information provided by students and their families is a key component in the administration of student aid programs. An Electronic Announcement released by the Department of Education addresses the permitted and prohibited use of personally identifiable
By Marlene Seeklander Two longtime Department of Education resources are being retired. The Department of Education announced that with the closing of the 2023-24 award year in mid-September, they are now in the process of retiring the Central Processing System (CPS) and the FAA Access to CPS Online website. Starting with the 2024-25 award year, CPS
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By Marlene Seeklander Receive updates from the Department of Education on 2024-25 processing and preparing for 2025-26 in an upcoming webinar. On Friday, November 8, from 3-4 p.m. (Eastern Time), the Department of Education will host a webinar to provide updates on the 2024-25 processing as well as an update on the 2025-26 FAFSA beta testing
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