Dear Colleagues
As you may be aware, there have been core changes made to the 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). With the ‘soft opening or launch’ of the 2024-2025 FAFSA we thought it may be helpful to provide some information about the updated FAFSA and to provide some resources.
Several pieces of legislation resulted in “FAFSA Simplification” which is intended to streamline the FAFSA process and make significant changes to student eligibility for federal student aid. We have outlined some of the important changes, potential impacts on students and campus, and resources below.
We have been notified that schools will not begin receiving student FAFSA data until mid to late March, 2024. This will delay our ability to package financial aid for incoming students and could lead to a delay in notifying them of errors, additional documentation that may be needed, and to determine aid eligibility. Once we begin receiving the needed information, we will work as quickly as possible to provide information to incoming students. However, we do not anticipate any delays in processing financial aid for continuing students as their aid is typically processed after the Spring semester. As always, students can be directed to The Gateway Information Center (Administration Building, main lobby) for assistance with filing their FAFSA or to the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships (Administration Building 170) for help with resolving any FAFSA issues.
Changes include:
- Streamlining and simplifying the FAFSA by obtaining the applicant’s income information directly from the IRS, removing complex income questions, and shortening the application.
- Changes to Pell Grant eligibility criteria, including new automatic maximum/minimum Pell Grants based on federal poverty guidelines.
- Replacing the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) with the Student Aid Index (SAI), modifying the formula for calculating it, and allowing a floor value of -$1,500.
- Changes in treatment for multiple family members in college and small businesses/family farms in calculating student aid eligibility.
- New requirements for how institutions calculate food and housing allowances in the Cost of Attendance (COA).
- Delayed release of the FAFSA for the 2024-25 award year.
Potential impacts on students and campus:
- Delayed notifications to incoming students of additional information needed and delayed awarding of aid.
- Student eligibility changes could result in more or less aid, which may require institutions to adjust institutional aid policies.
- Changes to how institutions calculate the Cost of Attendance (COA) for financial aid may impact student aid eligibility and institutional budgets.
- Compressed time frame to make financial aid offers, complete verification, and account for students’ special circumstances, given FAFSA delay.
- New FAFSA data-sharing limitations may require that offices outside of the financial aid office that currently use FAFSA data find alternate data sources.
- Institutions are now responsible for proper handling of Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) in the form of federal taxpayer information (FTI) from the FAFSA.
Resources
- IUSB information page
- 2024-25 FAFSA FAQ’s – Five short videos addressing important FAFSA changes students will experience when filing the 2024-2025 FAFSA.
- Federal Student Aid Estimator – Provides an estimate of how much student aid the student may be eligible to receive.
- Pell Grant eligibility and SAI calculation flowchart – Tool to help visualize how eligibility for Pell grants and other aid will be determined.
- FAFSA Parent – Tool to help visualize the parent or parents that should be identified as contributors on the FAFSA.
- Federal Student Aid – Official website for the U.S. Department of Education Office of Federal Student Aid.
- FAFSA Simplification Act – Official website for the U.S. Department of Education Office of Federal Student Aid regarding the FAFSA changes made.
Please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns. sbfinaid@iusb.edu