Department of Education

By Marlene Seeklander The Department of Education is among the federal offices closed in observance of the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Inauguration Day on Monday, January 20. A recent Electronic Announcement states that the Federal Student Aid (FSA) processors and contact centers will be closed on January 20. All FSA websites will be […]

By Marlene Seeklander Financial aid professionals may want to make note of two Wednesdays in January and February 2025 to tune into some upcoming webinars. In a recent Dear Colleague Letter, Federal Student Aid announced a series of live webinars that will cover topics related to the Title IV programs and will include the most recent

By Marlene Seeklander While new regulations are meant to provide important guidance to schools, the actual implementation of those regulations can create a lot of questions. In a recent Electronic Announcement, the Department of Education stated that to address the policy questions received from the higher education community regarding policy final regulations, the Office of Postsecondary

By Marlene Seeklander You will want to make note that the federal government offices will be closed on January 9 for a National Day of Mourning and some processing may be impacted. In a recent Electronic Announcement, the Department of Education announced that their federal offices will be closed to observe the day of mourning in

By Marlene Seeklander Schools facing a reduction in their campus-based funding due to underuse have until later this month to request the penalty be waived. The Department of Education recently released an Electronic Announcement outlining that, when a school returns more than 10% of its Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) or Federal Work Study (FWS)

By Marlene Seeklander In addition to the looming deadlines for financial value and transparency reporting, another important deadline is approaching for some institutions of higher education. The Department of Education recently released an Electronic Announcement for institutions of higher education (IHEs) that are owned or controlled by a foreign source or receive a gift or enter

By Marlene Seeklander Another tool is available to schools for the 2025-2026 award year set-up. The Department of Education has posted Volumes 1, 2, 6, and 7 of the 2025–2026 Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) Technical Reference, with the remaining volumes coming in early 2025. This resource includes development information for the 2025-2026 award year. Questions

By Marlene Seeklander As the focus on the value of career training increases nationwide, the Department is reminding financial aid offices about exceptions to the ability-to-benefit requirements. Students who otherwise might not be eligible for financial aid because of the ability-to-benefit standards, may be eligible for financial aid in specific career programs, but only if the