The delayed rollout last year of a federal aid form left Kansas college students unsure of what their financial assistance would look like for months longer than previous years.
But the U.S. Department of Education now is testing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, form with a goal of delivering information to schools by Dec. 1.
At the University of Kansas, last year’s problems with the form made it difficult for students to understand what their financial aid options were in the timeline many expected, said Leah Nicholson, associate director of financial aid and scholarships at KU. The delay also caused the university to release financial aid offers much later compared to previous years, she said.
“I think that when the FAFSA is available to everyone in December that it’ll have a much smoother rollout than it was last year,” Nicholson said. “I think the efforts of testing and the updates that they have been providing about the testing process have been far and above what we experienced last year.”
Nicholson said she hopes for not only positive user experience but also ease on the other end when applications are sent to schools like KU.
“I hope that on the back end they fix the glitches that are happening on the processing side of when the file gets sent to us. But that’s a little bit more complicated and takes a little bit more time,” Nicholson said. “But if they can at least get the front end user part fixed, that would be a huge accomplishment.”
For Kate Haney, a KU freshman from Kansas, the form was confusing to fill out with her parents.
“Some of the questions were worded odd,” Haney said. “I had a ton of friends impacted by the delay though. It was an inconvenience for me because I just wanted to get it completed and then just kept having to wait.”
Simeon Moulton, a Drake University freshman from Kansas, said the delay made it difficult to decide which school to attend.
“It made it really stressful for me, and I was one of the people who had a secondary delay,” Moulton said. “I was just waiting to see if I could afford to go to school.”
The U.S. Department of Education responded to students’ concerns by launching a beta testing program this fall with the goal of improving the user experience when filling out the form. The agency intends to expand testing to thousands of high school students across the country, improve usability of the form and increase transparency with any potential problems going forward.
“Testing the FAFSA system with real students and institutions in a wide range of contexts is critical to ensuring a successful launch by Dec. 1,” said FAFSA executive adviser Jeremy Singer. “We are grateful to the many organizations that will help us achieve this goal.”
The Education Department brought Singer on as executive adviser because of his experience with technology innovation within education and his previous work at the College Board. Singer was named the FAFSA executive adviser at the Office of Federal Student Aid after taking a temporary leave from the College Board this summer.
Moulton said that while testing now is a good idea, the department should have taken more responsibility for the mistakes made last year. For students like Moulton, delays not only prolonged college decisions but also caused stress among families.
“It felt like every time they announced a new delay they were just apologetic and did not take responsibility for the effect that the delays were having on students,” Moulton said. “I think it’s good they are being a little more proactive earlier on, but I still think they need to have the FAFSA fully fleshed out before it is expected to be used.”
The U.S. Department of Education in a news release said the first round of beta testing was successful, with 650 students being able to submit their form without any “critical bugs.” Testing will continue into the fall in more states, with an emphasis on students with diverse backgrounds economically, geographically and educationally.
Although there is no testing site planned for Kansas, the department intends to continue sharing updates with students and families to make the FAFSA process as accessible as possible. Singer said the department is on track for a complete launch by Dec. 1.
“We were able to see the forms move from submission to processing — and even corrections — without any major issues,” Singer said. “We learned a tremendous amount and are on track for a full launch.”
Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com. Follow Kansas Reflector on Facebook and Twitter.
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