ASHLAND — A late, error-ridden rollout of the new Federal Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) has created a “crisis” for higher education, according to the American Council on Education.
Fast facts
The U.S. Department of Education launched a new FAFSA this year. The changes to the form passed with the FAFSA Simplification Act in 2020. Starting this year, the form was supposed to be shorter and offer more Pell Grant funding, among other shifts.
However, the form rolled out over two months after it was supposed to. Several students reported challenges filling it out when it did launch. Schools have had to push back deposit due dates and delayed sending financial aid packages to prospective students.
Fewer students filled out the FAFSA this year than the previous year. According to data from the National College Attainment Network, only 49% of the class of 2024 has filled out the form — a -9.9% difference from the year before.
Ohio fares slightly better than the national average, with 49.8% of the state’s seniors filling out the FAFSA.
The American Council on Education also stated universities have had challenges sending out financial aid offers in a timely manner. That’s thanks to delays in the federal government getting student data to schools.
Locally, the troubled rollout forced Ashland University to push back its deadline for deposits to June 1. Typically, that deadline — which is when students commit to attend a school — happens May 1.
The school also offered new scholarships in the spring to accommodate the FAFSA’s changes, according to previous reporting from Ashland Source.
The continuing issues with the form mean continuing challenges for AU as well.
As AU prepares to welcome students back for its fall semester, officials are working to process more last-minute FAFSAs than usual; waiting to see the aftermath of the form’s messy rollout on the school; and bracing for next year.
Final calls for FAFSA
Keith Ramsdell, AU’s vice president for enrollment management, said AU’s goal in the spring was to put out accurate financial aid packages.
We’re continuing to take applications … not just because we want the students and need the students, but the students need someplace to go. If they’re making these decisions, it’s certainly not their fault that they’re in the situation that they’re in.
Keith Ramsdell, Au’s Vice PResident for Enrollment Management
After students fill out the FAFSA, schools receive an Institutional Student Information Record, or ISIR from the federal government. Schools must have ISIRs from its students.
Ramsdell said those ISIRs came in late, and many were incorrect. He said AU erred on the side of caution, waiting to send financial aid packages to students until they knew the ISIR information they’d received was correct.
At this point, most packages have been sent to students. For now, the school is working on doling out financial aid packages for students whose information is just coming in.
Ramsdell said it’s normal to receive ISIRs as students fill out the FAFSA throughout the year.
He said this year, what’s been abnormal is the number of late applications AU has received. Ramsdell attributes it to the FAFSA rollout.
AU is still taking applications for this fall, Ramsdell said.
“We’re continuing to take applications … not just because we want the students and need the students, but the students need someplace to go. If they’re making these decisions, it’s certainly not their fault that they’re in the situation that they’re in.
“Again, as we’ve said before, this is disproportionately impacting first-generation students, students of color, our incarcerated students through our correctional education program.
“For us, it’s about accent on the individual. It’s about what do we need to do to serve these populations of students who are, in this year, caught between a rock and a hard place in situations that they did not create.
“We’re trying to do everything we can to help them walk through this mess.”
Waiting game
Even as the university continues to process students’ FAFSAs for this fall, it’s looking ahead. The school’s enrollment gets finalized in mid-September.
Ramsdell said he couldn’t speak about how the FAFSA situation will impact enrollment until those enrollment numbers are finalized. He said he does anticipate enrollment will see an impact of some kind, partially due to the challenging rollout.
Beyond September, the FAFSA rollout has been pushed back for the next school year.
In a typical year, the FAFSA rolls out on Oct. 1 for families to start filling out. But the U.S. Dept. of Education put out a press release Aug. 7 stating the Oct. 1 rollout will only happen for “testing with a limited set of students and institutions.”
The form will be rolled out for all students on or before Dec. 1, the press release states.
The release reads:
The goal of the phased rollout of the 2025-26 FAFSA form, consistent with software industry best-practices, is to work with limited groups of users to identify and resolve the kind of system errors that can derail millions of students and contributors and thousands of colleges.
A phased rollout will also allow the Department to incorporate user feedback to ensure the application’s instructions are clear and easy-to-use for students and contributors and provide resources for the community that supports students and families.
Alexander Jordan, the executive director of AU’s financial aid office, pointed out the announcement doesn’t state when schools will receive students’ data.
He worries that could mean more delays will face AU’s financial aid office getting financial aid packages to students next year.
Open to help
Ramsdell said he worries about the long-term implications the FAFSA situation poses.
Last year, he said the school expected an uptick in the number of questions it received about the FAFSA. The uptick didn’t come, Ramsdell said. He’s concerned it reflects a larger trend of families who chose not to fill out the form due to the challenges it posed.
“The bottom line is that most research shows that if they don’t start at a four-year school right away, they’ll never enroll,” Ramsdell said. “It won’t happen.
“In the long run, it impacts their earning potential, it impacts their future, it impacts the nation’s economy in the long run, the workforce. I mean, it has a pretty devastating long-term effect.”
Jordan said the school will continue to work with families in the community who have questions — including those whose students might not be attending AU. It did so last year through in-person and online workshops, according to Jordan.
Jordan added many families who did reach out with questions last year were understanding about the issues with the form.
“Like we did this year, Ashland will support the students every step of the way to make this process as smooth as possible for them… so that they don’t feel the pain that the Department (of Education) is causing,” Jordan said.
