Washington Update

FAFSA Updates for Award Year 2024-25  

APLU understands the tremendous challenges the delayed (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) FAFSA rollout has created for students, their families, and institutions. The association is in regular contact with the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and continues to push for an expedient resolution to the challenges created by delays. In our communications, we are underscoring the concerns we are hearing from member institutions. 

This month, the Department updated key 2024-25 FAFSA resources and published additional information on its FAFSA College Support Strategy. ED plans to provide additional personnel, funding, resources, and technology to help schools and students complete the newly-released award year 2024-25 FAFSA. The FAFSA College Support Strategy also includes plans to deploy federal financial aid experts to HBCUs, tribal colleges and universities, and “under-resourced institutions,” which may include those with high Pell Grant student enrollment, but which ED has not clearly defined. The experts will provide institutions with the tools and information required to process financial aid packages and deliver additional on-campus support as needed.  

The Department further announced it will create a concierge service within the Office of Federal Student Aid to provide institutions direct contact with financial aid experts to offer personalized support based on institutional needs. ED is also allocating $50 million for non-profit groups specializing in financial aid support and services to provide technical assistance and support beyond what is provided directly by the Department.  

Additionally, ED also recently announced it will begin transmitting 2024-25 award year Individual Student Institutional Records (ISIRs) in the first half of March, editing its 2024-25 FAFSA Student Aid Index Update and Timeline to reflect these changes.  

In addition, ED announced new steps to reduce burden on institutions so they can focus on FAFSA completion and aid packaging. According to ED, they will:  

• Significantly reduce income verification, focusing instead on identity fraud. 
• Suspend new program reviews, except those focused on fraud. 
• Extend deadlines for routine recertification of eligibility. 
• Send test ISIRs to institutions by Friday, February 16 so institutions can test their systems to prepare to receive actual student FAFSA data. 

Members of Congress in Both Parties Share Frustration with FAFSA Rollout 

Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-VT), House Education and Workforce Committee Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA), Appropriations Chair Patty Murray (D-WA), and over 100 Democrats urged ED to provide details on the timeline and next steps for fixing the FAFSA rollout. This follows earlier letters by Ranking Member Scott on the FAFSA rollout and income protection allowance.  

On the Republican side, House Education and Workforce Committee Chair Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Senate HELP Committee Ranking Member Bill Cassidy (R-LA) called on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate the FAFSA rollout’s personnel problems and established a committee hotline for FAFSA complaints. This follows an earlier bicameral Republican committee leaders’ GAO request on FAFSA. 

Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-IL) is circulating a congressional letter urging ED to fix a FAFSA technical issue as soon as possible and conduct outreach to affected communities. The glitch in the new FAFSA is preventing noncitizen parents from submitting required income information to the online form. Eligible citizens and permanent resident students in mixed-status families have been unable to submit their online FAFSA, which could harm their higher education enrolment decisions.  

College Cost Reduction Act Advocacy Update 

On January 31, the House Committee on Education & the Workforce held a markup of the College Cost Reduction Act, legislation introduced by Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) with the goal of reforming higher education accountability, outcomes transparency, and student aid.

Prior to the markup, APLU sent a letter outlining areas of concern, support, and requests for improvements in the legislation. Due in part to advocacy by APLU and member institutions, the substitute amendment, which passed as part of the markup, made some key improvements to the base bill, including the restoration of Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG). The legislation ultimately passed on a party-line vote in committee.  

APLU anticipates Chairwoman Foxx will make a determined effort to push House Republican Leadership and the broader caucus to consider the legislation on the House Floor.   

While the legislation changed some in markup, most notably the restoration of SEOG, the APLU letter still raises our most significant concerns, which include risk sharing, elimination of PLUS loans, and an array of mandates we do not believe are consistent with governance of public institutions. In addition to APLU’s engagement, the broader higher education community sent a letter prior to markup. 

White House Announces Investments in National Semiconductor Technology Center  

Last week, the White House announced over $5 billion in investment in the CHIPS Research and Development Program, including the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC). The announcement also formally established a public-private consortium for the NSTC, which will lower barriers to participation in CHIPS research and development. 

The announcement included investments in the semiconductor workforce, as well as a CHIPS Manufacturing USA Institute. The NSTC serves as the centerpiece of CHIPS for America’s $11 billion R&D program and, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, will bring together government, industry, labor, customers, suppliers, educational institutions, entrepreneurs, and investors to accelerate the pace of new innovations from ideas to marketplace.