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

  • Round Rock ISD Completes New Early College High School

    Round Rock ISD near Austin, Texas, recently announced that construction is complete on a new, 46,500-square-foot campus for Early College High School, according to a news release. The new facility will allow the school’s students and staff to move from portables into a permanent building and increase its enrollment to 500.

  • University of Arizona Approves New Residence Hall

    The Arizona Board of Regents recently approved plans for a new residence hall at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Ariz., according to a news release. The new facility is scheduled to open in fall 2028 and have the capacity for more than 1,200 students, enforcing a new university expectation that all first-year students live on campus.

  • Countway Library at Harvard Medical School

    From Shadows to Sanctuary: The Transformation of Light at Countway Library

    The renovation of Countway Library at Harvard Medical School demonstrates how biophilic design and advanced lighting strategies transformed a formerly dark, insular space into a vibrant, welcoming hub that supports wellness, learning, and community engagement.

  • UT System Board of Regents Approves $108M Housing Complex

    The University of Texas System Board of Regents recently announced the approval of a new, $108-million housing complex at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), according to a news release. The facility will stand four stories and have a total of 456 new beds for freshmen students.