By Marlene Seeklander Hopefully, your holiday “to do” list doesn’t include working on Christmas or New Year’s day, but if you need to, 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 […]
Holiday hours for Federal Student Aid and Mapping Your Future Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Schools with existing Federal Perkins Loan portfolios will want to make note of important information to ensure they stay in compliance. In a December 11 Electronic Announcement, the Department of Education provided information on the required capital distribution from the school’s Perkins Loan Revolving Fund as part of the wind-down of the Federal
Important reminders for schools with Federal Perkins Loan portfolios Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander After several years of hosting a virtual conference, the Department of Education is once again hosting an in-person training conference. In a December 15 Electronic Announcement, the Department announced that the in-person Federal Student Aid (FSA) Training Conference will be held March 4-6, 2026 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
Federal Student Aid Training Conference to be held March 4-6, 2026 Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Enhanced controls prevented more than $1 billion in attempted financial aid fraud in the past year, according to the Department of Education. In a December 11 press release, the Department announced by implanting fraud controls they prevented the fraud which included coordinated international fraud rings and AI bots pretending to be students. The
More than $1 billion in federal student aid fraud halted in 2025 Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Financial aid professionals can now add the latest volumes of the 2025-26 Federal Student Aid Handbook to their financial aid reading list. The December 11 Electronic Announcement from the Department of Education announced the availability of Volume 1 – Student Eligibility, Volume 4 – Processing Aid and Managing FSA Funds, and Volume 6 – The Campus-Based Programs.
Additional volumes of 2025-26 Federal Student Aid Handbook now available Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander EDExpress users who still need to make corrections to the 2024-25 FISAP now have a workaround for an issue affecting the calculation of total income for dependent and independent students. In a December 9 Electronic Announcement, the Department of Education (ED) outlined that the issue only impacts records that have a null or
EDExpress 2024-25 has workaround for FISAP Total Income Calculation issue Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander EDExpress for Windows users have a new service release available for their use that will aid in the completion of the 2027-28 FISAP report. In a December 9 Electronic Announcement, Federal Student Aid announced a new service release for EDExpress for Windows 2025–26, Release 2.0. It is available in the Software and Other Tools area of
By Marlene Seeklander The Department of Education this month released more information about enhancements to the new foreign gifts and contracts reporting portal. According to a December 3 Electronic Announcement, the new reporting portal will include a tailored, efficient, and institution-specific reporting process while maintaining compliance with Section 117. Based on feedback from nine institutions of
Details released about new federal portal for reporting foreign gifts and contracts Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Students completing the FAFSA now have additional information when deciding which college they may want to attend. In a December 8 Electronic Announcement, the Department of Education announced the implementation of a new lower earnings indicator as part of the FAFSA. This indicator—effective December 7, 2025, and only applicable to first-year undergraduate students—provides
Students completing the FAFSA to be notified about colleges with lower earnings Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander FAFSA users who previously encountered an issue when attempting to report their address within the U.S. territories, including Puerto Rico, should no longer encounter an issue. In a December 4 Electronic Announcement, the Department of Education announced that on December 7 an update to adjust some users’ state and country code information was
