Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Early FAFSA Opens Door to Further Simplification

  • 08/24/16

WASHINGTON, DC – This fall, college students across the country will have access to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, months earlier than in previous years, arming them with financial aid information that can help students and families make better informed decisions about their college choices. 

The use of prior-prior year income data, which President Barack Obama made possible through executive action last fall, lays the foundation for the earlier release date of the FAFSA, and opens the door for further simplification efforts within federal financial aid. 

Lawmakers and higher education thought leaders, including NASFAA, have long called for efforts to streamline the federal student aid process. NASFAA suggested in its FAFSA Working Group Report creating a FAFSA application that directs students down one of three pathways — rather than taking a “one-size-fits-all” approach — depending on factors such as their family income, dependency status, tax information, and whether the applicant has been a recipient of public means-tested benefits. This proposal would be possible with the use of prior-prior year income data, and an increased use of the IRS Data Retrieval Tool.

“NASFAA has long been interested in ways to make the FAFSA more efficient and simple for students and families — in particular our neediest families should not have to prove time and time again that they are poor,” says NASFAA President Justin Draeger. “The use of prior-prior year income data on the FAFSA is an important first step in the simplification process, and can be a launching off to further simplify and streamline the application process.”

Although the overall political climate in Washington is polarized, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have shown both an interest in and support for simplifying the federal student aid application process. Now is the time to make changes to help expand access for students and families.

About NASFAA
The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) is a nonprofit membership organization that represents more than 20,000 financial aid professionals at nearly 3,000 colleges, universities, and career schools across the country. NASFAA member institutions serve nine out of every ten undergraduates in the United States. Based in Washington, DC, NASFAA is the only national association with a primary focus on student aid legislation, regulatory analysis, and training for financial aid administrators. For more information, visit www.nasfaa.org.

Featured

  • Chartwells Launches Campus Dining Evaluation Framework

    Contract food-service management provider Chartwells Higher Education recently announced the launch of BLUEPRINT, according to a news release. The evaluation framework was designed to provide a data-driven and customizable roadmap towards optimizing campus dining services and, by extension, the student experience.

  • Miami University Approves New $242M Multipurpose Arena

    Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, recently announced that its Board of Trustees has approved construction of a new multipurpose arena at Cook Field, according to university news. The $242-million project will serve as a new centralized hub for student life and create space for economic development on campus.

  • UTampa Breaks Ground on STEM Academic Facility

    The University of Tampa in Tampa, Fla., recently broke ground on one of its largest academic facilities ever, according to a news release. The Dickey Science Innovation Center will measure 153,000 square feet and has a scheduled completion date of fall 2028.

  • Tennessee Middle School Completes Health, Life Safety Renovations

    The Giles County Board of Education in Pulaski, Tenn., recently announced that a series of renovation projects has been completed at Bridgeforth Middle School, according to a news release. The district partnered with Wold Architects & Engineers and Brindley Construction to modernize building systems at one of the district’s oldest schools.