Department of Education

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Reporting Federal Work-Study Earnings to COD System for 2025 calendar year

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By Marlene Seeklander Financial aid professionals now have instructions for the reporting of student-level earnings for the Federal Work-Study (FWS) program for the 2025 calendar year. In a June 23 Electronic Announcement, the Department of Education outlines the operational guidance for schools as they begin reporting Federal Work-Study earnings for the 2025 calendar year. The implementation

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Updates to FAFSA Specifications Guides

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By Marlene Seeklander Financial aid professionals will want to make note of recent updates to the FAFSA Specifications Guides for various award years.   The Department of Education recently announced updates to several important volumes of the guides. The following volume has been added to the 2027-28 FAFSA Specifications Guide: In the 2026-27 FAFSA Specifications Guide, updates were

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New functionality added to foreign ownership, contracts and gifts reporting portal; institutions can now update older reports

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By Marlene Seeklander Institutions required to report on foreign ownership, contracts, and gifts, now have a new functionality in their reporting portal that should make updating older reports easier compared to the previous manual process. In a June 18 Electronic Announcement, the Department of Education announced that, effective immediately, institutions of higher education (IHEs) can now

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Federal student loan borrowers to get rate reduction for enrollment in autopay

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June 19, 2026 By Catherine Mueller Federal student loan borrowers could save some money on their student loans if they enroll in autopay. On June 18, The U.S. Department of Education announced that federal student loan borrowers enrolled in auto pay will be eligible for a 1 percent interest rate reduction beginning July 1. Borrowers who

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Department of Education offers guidance on which programs to add to federal report

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By Marlene Seeklander In what is likely an attempt to have all bases covered, schools have been adding programs to the Eligibility and Certification Approval Report (ECAR) that aren’t required. The Department of Education (ED) said it wants the practice to stop – in part to reduce the workload on schools. In a June 15 Electronic

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Enhancements to FSA Partner Connect to improve user experience

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By Marlene Seeklander Financial aid professionals entering the “digital front door” for Federal Student Aid (aka FSA Partner Connect) will notice some enhancements to the platform. In a recent Electronic Announcement, the Department of Education stated that the FSA Partner Connect has had a number of enhancements made to it to make things easier for their

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 FSA Training Center to update award-year specific training courses

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By Marlene Seeklander The clock is ticking for financial aid professionals to complete award-year specific training courses on the FSA Training Center. On July 2, the FSA Training Center will remove training courses specific to the 2025-26 award year and replace them with the 2026-27 award year courses on July 3. The FSA Training Center includes

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2027-28 Student Aid Index (SAI) and Pell Grant Eligibility Guide now available

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By Marlene Seeklander Financial aid professionals now have access to financial aid eligibility calculations for the 2027-28 award year with the release of a new guide from the Department of Education. In a recent Electronic Announcement, Federal Student Aid said that the 2027–28 Student Aid Index (SAI) and Pell Grant Eligibility Guide is available for download.

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Federal Student Aid closures due to Juneteenth federal holiday

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By Marlene Seeklander The Department of Education is among the federal offices closed for the Juneteenth National Independence Day federal holiday on Friday, June 19. The June 11 announcement states that the Federal Student Aid (FSA) processors and contact centers will be closed on June 19. All FSA websites will be operational on the holiday. The following additional

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2026-27 Award Year additional COD System implementation coming soon

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By Marlene Seeklander Financial aid professionals will soon see additional Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) functionality for the 2026-27 award year. The Department of Education announced that on June 28, 2026 additional COD System functionality will be implemented. The additional functionality will support the Campus-Based programs, along with the processing of Pell Grant, TEACH Grant, and

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