By Marlene Seeklander The Department of Education announced it has resolved a problem — for the most part, that is – with 2024-25 FAFSA information that was preventing schools from awarding financial aid to students. According to the Department, some schools were receiving student records for the 2024-25 FAFSA that were missing a Student Aid Index […]
By Marlene Seeklander Knowing the final amounts of funding is a key component in the 2025-26 award year planning process for financial aid professionals. After an initial delay, an update on April 10 to a March 31 Electronic Announcement announced that the final 2025-26 Campus-Based programs funding worksheets and the 2025-26 Statement of Account for each
Campus-Based Programs 2025-26 Final Funding authorizations now available Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander The Department of Education is inviting public feedback on several student loan related topics. In a Federal Register Notice dated April 4, 2025, the Department announced its intent to host public hearings and establish negotiated rulemaking committees as well as inviting public feedback on the following topics: Written comments on these and any
Department of Education seeking public feedback for proposed regulations Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Borrowers seeking a TPD Discharge can now submit forms and track their progress at StudentAid.gov. In an April 7 Electronic Announcement, Federal Student Aid (FSA) announced that the TPD Discharge process has now fully transitioned to FSA as of March 23, 2025 and allows borrowers seeking TPD to submit their TPD forms and
Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) Discharge Transition and updates Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander EDExpress users now have six updated microlearning courses available for their training needs. The FSA Training Center has released six updated microlearning courses for EDExpress for Windows, which include multiple video demonstrations and uses the most recent release of the 2025-26 software. To access the training: The microlearning courses include: Questions about the
EDExpress microlearning courses updated Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Nominations are being sought by the Department of Education for negotiators who represent various sectors impacted by proposed regulations. An April 3 press release by the Department of Education states that a Federal Register Notice will be published on April 4 announcing the Department of Education’s intent to receive public feedback for the
By Marlene Seeklander While many students and parents are completing the 2025-26 FAFSA, the Department of Education is already looking ahead to next year’s FAFSA. Now is your opportunity to submit comments on or before April 7 to the Department of Education about the proposed draft 2026-27 FAFSA form and FAFSA Submission Summary. In an Electronic
Draft 2026-27 FAFSA application materials available for comment Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander Student loan borrowers wanting to apply for the Income-Drive Repayment Plan or Loan Consolidation can once again do so. A March 26 Press Release from the Department of Education announced that they have reopened the online income-driven (IDR) plan and loan consolidation applications for borrowers. In order to comply with the 8th Circuit
By Marlene Seeklander Institutions who won’t be able to meet the community service requirements of the Federal Work Study program have until next month to request a waiver. Schools may request a waiver from the Federal Work Study (FWS) program community service requirements if those requirements cause hardship for students. A March 24 Electronic Announcement outlines
Deadline nearing to request waiver of 2025-26 FWS program community service requirements Read More »
By Marlene Seeklander The FAFSA and student loan servicing are two areas left unimpacted by the recent Department of Education layoffs, according to a letter sent out late last week. In a March 17 Electronic Announcement, the Department published the March 14 letter from Acting Under Secretary James Bergeron, addressing the recent reduction in force (RIF). The
Letter to education stakeholders from Acting Under Secretary James Bergeron Read More »
