Financial aid professionals are talented at juggling several tasks at the same time – like dealing with multiple award years.

As the 2025-26 award year winds down, the 2027-28 award year seems to be in the distant future. After all, we still have the 2026-27 award year ahead of us.

But as industry professionals know–it isn’t too early to start preparing for 2027-28.

The Department of Education just announced the release of the initial volumes of the 2027–28 FAFSA Specifications Guide. The guide is designed for those who want to incorporate the electronic Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) functionality into their own systems.

The initial 2027-28 FAFSA Specifications Guide includes the Microsoft Excel version of the 2027–28 Institutional Student Information Record layout, the Introduction section, and Volumes 4A, 4B, and 8. Additional volumes will be published in July and August 2026 and will be revised throughout the processing cycle.

In the midst of all the upcoming changes, financial aid professionals and other industry partners can now add one more item to their already too-long “to do” list – getting ready for another award year.

– By Marlene Seeklander