For the 2024-25 school year, the program behind the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) was scheduled to receive major software updates to simplify and improve its function but received several delays and setbacks.
FAFSA is a form the government uses to calculate aid and grant money for undergraduate study.
Executive Director of Student Financial Services Lane Smith, talked about where the update came from.
“Right at the end of the Trump administration… Congress passed a bill that was intended to fully update the FAFSA, it hadn’t been really changed in 20 years,” said Smith. “They were going to go through and rewrite all of the technical language behind it and totally revamp it.”
Smith also talked about how the system and calculation process for aid amounts were both scheduled to be updated.
“They also changed the actual calculation behind it [FAFSA],” said Smith. “So we could get into the hands of those that needed it the most, more final resources to pay for college.”
Nikki Bradberry, the director of student retention and Samford One Stop, spoke on the issues that have caused the delay.
“For the 24-25 FAFSA, which was released earlier this year, there are many new updates to simplify and improve the application for better ease of submission and processing to ensure students are receiving an optimum aid package, where eligible,” said Bradbury. “With these updates, the Federal Department of Education faced system upgrades and adjustments that took longer than anticipated.”
This delay has caused issues for universities across the nation.
“Samford, like all other schools in the U.S., is awaiting the release of our students’ completed 24-25 FAFSAs to begin processing and communicating about next year’s aid packages,” said Bradbury.
Those mainly impacted are those looking to be enrolled next year. While current students also use the FAFSA, Smith believes they should not worry about it for now.
“I’d want our current students to know there is nothing to be concerned about or panicked about because as it relates to how we work with them we are still right on schedule,” said Smith.
While there may be issues, Samford believes that they can make it past without any major obstacles.
“So far, these delays have not caused a disruption to our normal processing for current students’ aid packages,” said Bradbury. “At this time, we anticipate all to go as planned. We are staying updated and informed daily to ensure we are doing all we can to take the absolute best care of our students and their 24-25 FAFSA applications.”
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