By Marlene Seeklander An updated 2026-27 Federal School Code List, which plays a key role in the FAFSA, has been released by the Department of Education (the Department). The Department announced the availability of the updated 2026–27 Federal School Code (FSC) List of Participating Schools. Although it’s usually not necessary, students can enter these codes on
Updated 2026-27 Federal School Code List now available Read More »
By Catherine Mueller To thwart would-be fraudsters, the financial aid application now includes an identity screening process. Earlier this year, the Department of Education launched a new, real-time fraud detection capability for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. Every applicant will be evaluated in real-time through a risk-based identity screening. Applicants who display
Identity fraud detection system now in FAFSA Read More »
By Catherine Mueller Students completing the FAFSA will no longer have to wait to view their FAFSA Submission Summary. This summer, the U.S. Department of Education announced they have launched a processing enhancement that allows students to immediately view their FAFSA Submission Summary when signing and submitting an initial application or correction of a 2025-26 or
FAFSA results now available in real time Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander The Department of Education has again pushed back its planned publication of all foreign sources of ownership, gifts or contracts involving those institutions of higher education required to submit reports. In a July 24 update to a July 6 Electronic Announcement, the Department has agreed to delay the planned publication of the names
Report of foreign involvement in U.S. higher education delayed Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Financial aid professionals now have a new enrollment reporting guide, updated with information on reporting enrollment statuses related to the new Return to Title IV Funds withdrawal exemption. On July 27, the Department of Education announced an updated version of the Enrollment Reporting Guide. The guide provides step-by-step instructions for NSLDS enrollment reporting.
Updated NSLDS Enrollment Reporting Guide (July 2026) now available Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander The Federal Trade Commission is reminding student loan borrowers how to avoid debt relief scams, after news of a court-issued orders banning Nevada-based operators from engaging in the debt relief industry. In a July 21 press release, the FTC said that Dennise Merdjanian, an operator of a student loan debt forgiveness scheme, will
FTC warns of student loan forgiveness scams Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander While financial aid professionals are in the midst of dealing with implanting new regulatory changes in addition to their usual workload for the upcoming school year, the deadline for another important responsibility isn’t far away. In a July 20 Electronic Announcement, the Department of Education reminded schools about the availability of the 2027-28
By Marlene Seeklander Schools that have not yet closed out their 2024-25 Direct Loan Program year need to do so by July 31. In a July 21 Electronic Announcement, the Department of Education announced that the deadline to submit records for the 2024-25 Direct Loan Program year is 8 p.m. (Eastern) on Thursday, July 31, 2026.
Closeout deadline soon approaching for 2024-25 Direct Loan Program year Read More »
By Catherine Mueller Financial aid professionals and software providers now have another resource to prepare for 2027-28 financial aid awards. In a July 22 update to a May 5 Electronic Announcement, the Department said it made two updates to the 2027-28 FAFSA Specifications Guide, adding an ISIR Test File for the upcoming year under Volume 9
2027-28 FAFSA student record file now available for testing Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander The StudentAid.gov site will be unavailable on Saturday, July 25, 2026. Federal Student Aid announced that they are completing maintenance to the StudentAid.gov site on Saturday, July 25 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Eastern). The outage will impact the automated transfer of tax return information on StudentAid.gov. Users may access the FAFSA form and the
Upcoming outage alert for StudentAid.gov on July 25 Read More »
