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 […]
By Marlene Seeklander Colleges that need to report foreign gifts and contracts will want to make note of an upcoming training webinar. In a December 5 Electronic Announcement, the Department of Education announced that they are offering a training webinar, “Using the New Section 117 Reporting Portal” for schools required to report foreign gifts and contracts.
Using the new Section 117 Reporting Portal training webinar Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander With a deadline looming, higher education officials will need to get skilled on using a new portal for reporting foreign gifts and contracts. On January 2, 2026, the Department of Education (ED) will launch a new Section 117 reporting portal, in which they said they “have attempted to incorporate many comments provided by
By Marlene Seeklander Schools will want to make note that a new version of the COD Common Record Extensible Markup Language (XML) Schema 5.0d is now available. In a November 25 Electronic Announcement, the Department of Education stated that in spring 2026, they will implement Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) functionality that will support the processing
New COD Common Record XML Schema Version 5.0d now available Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Financial aid professionals will soon see updates to the Application for Approval to Participate in the Federal Student Financial Assistance Programs, also known as the E-App. In a November 26 Electronic Announcement, the Department of Education outlined the updates that will be implemented on December 7, 2025 and are designed to improve the
Enhancements coming to the E-App in FSA Partner Connect Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Financial aid professionals will soon have the opportunity to watch the cash management webinar – Charges and Credit Balances. In an update to an earlier Electronic Announcement, FSA announced that the Charges and Credit Balances webinar has been rescheduled and will be held on Wednesday, December 10, from 1:00-2:30 p.m. (Eastern). No registration
Federal Student Aid reschedules Charges and Credit Balances webinar Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Financial aid professionals can now plan for the upcoming FAFSA verification season with the latest guidance from the Department of Education. In a November 26 Dear Colleague Letter, the Department of Education details the changes in verification for 2026-27 and provides suggested text for schools to use in requesting additional documentation from students.
2026-2027 FAFSA information to be verified and acceptable documentation Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Hopefully, you will be enjoying Thanksgiving day and not working, but if you do need to work, you should know that some Federal Student Aid offices are taking a break or will have modified hours. Federal Student Aid (FSA) announced that their offices and contact centers will be closed on Thursday, November 27, in observance
2025 Thanksgiving holiday hours for Federal Student Aid and Mapping Your Future Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Colleges and state agencies which receive student FAFSA data can now better prepare for the 2026-27 academic year with some updated test records. In a recent update to an earlier Electronic Announcement, the Department of Education announced that it has published an additional set of system-generated 2026-27 ISIRs. These ISIRs include updates to
Department provides new student data test files with Budget Reconciliation changes Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Some FAFSA filers may have received an incorrect determination of their financial aid eligibility due to an error in calculating assets. The Department of Education recently resolved an issue which impacted some 2025-26 and 2026-27 FAFSA filers and how assets were used in calculating their Student Aid Index (SAI). In a November 20,
