The most recent failure in the rollout of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) will leave many college students without critical financial aid as the fall semester approaches. On July 30th, the U.S. Education Department’s (ED) announced their decision to defer their acceptance of batch corrections. The ED stated that batch correction functionality would be deferred until the 2025-2026 FAFSA cycle after stating in June that it was to be available by the middle of August.
This is yet another obstacle in the problem-ridden rollout of the new version of the FAFSA, which serves as the basis for the entire Federal student aid process. Since the new FAFSA was released two months late last December, the rollout has been plagued by delays, glitches, and processing errors in the system through which millions of students receive the financial aid to which they are entitled to make it possible for them to attend college.
Batch Corrections
Batch corrections are aggregated digital changes to the FAFSA records of students. They are submitted by a college to ED as one bulk transmission to enable faster and more efficient data processing If colleges cannot submit bulk corrections, individual corrections must be submitted.
Prior to academic year 2024-25, colleges were able to send batch corrections when the FAFSA first went live on October 1. The ability to submit corrections in bulk is especially important for colleges that need to send thousands of corrected FAFSA’s. Colleges have been waiting months for the ED to accept batches of corrected FAFSA records.
Corrections include upward adjustments to award packages for families contending with a job loss, salary reduction, a student with special needs, a dependency adjustment, or other circumstance that makes it more difficult for them to pay for college. Such corrections must be made before aid offers can be finalized and students can receive disbursements. Without the ability to submit corrections in bulk, colleges must make changes manually for each individual student, a time-consuming process that delays disbursements.
The ED has reported that over 2,800 colleges have successfully submitted individual corrections since they were first accepted at its corrections portal early in July. Still, the agency said it recognizes the time sensitivity and extra administrative burden for institutions and is offering technical assistance to help colleges with the process. There is no information on the number of colleges that have taken them up on this offer.
Beth Maglione, chief executive of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), has stated that “The Department’s poor planning has led to a stunning failure. Some college students might not have financial aid dollars in their hands in time to start classes in the next few weeks. And for schools, the impact of today’s announcement means more than a few extra hours of work. It’s the difference between pushing a button versus making thousands of keystrokes in terms of administrative burden.”
The ED stated that, “We know this decision creates additional burdens for institutions that are already experiencing a heavy workload and increased demands during this extraordinary FAFSA processing cycle”. Initially, the ED stated that colleges could submit bulk corrections in July, only to push the date back into August. But in its July 30 announcement, the Department said it had decided to forego batch corrections entirely this year because many colleges could not utilize the function before the fall semester begins. The ED said it is prioritizing the development of “a well-tested, robust, and end-to-end launch of the 2025-26 form” and needs to ensure that its resources are applied accordingly. This, unfortunately, places the financial aid needs of current students, and especially those in the high school class of 2023, hanging in the balance.
On July 23, NASFAA and four other student advocate associations wrote ED Secretary Miguel Cardona urging him to deliver a full-function FAFSA next year, even if it means delaying the normal October 1 rollout by two months. The recommendation comes as Congress is considering legislation requiring that the 2025-26 FAFSA be available on October 1, 2024, the launch date every year between 2016 and 2023. NASFAA and the other associations have expressed concern that a Congressional mandate could result in another faulty rollout to the detriment of colleges and students.
Submitting Corrections Through EDE
A college’s financial aid office can make corrections through the SPEEDE Server. This is an Electronic Data Exchange (EDE) network that allows free, open, and secure exchange of student data and documents among participating institutions nationwide and the ED. It is operated by the National Student Clearinghouse.
Even if the FAFSA wasn’t originally submitted to the college because it wasn’t listed on the student’s SAR or SAR Information Acknowledgement, the EDE can be used to submit bulk or individual corrections to the ED. The student will need to provide the college with their Data Release Number (DRN) so that it can get electronic access to the student’s record.
If a college makes a correction for a student through EDE, they must possess signed documentation for the correction from the student and parent (if appropriate). This signed documentation can be signatures on Part 2 of the SAR, a signed copy of the correction to be sent to the ED, or signed verification documentation.
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