By Catherine Brown, Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy and MorraLee Keller, Senior Director of Strategic Programming
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National College Attainment Network (NCAN) members and the students they serve are eagerly anticipating the new simplified FAFSA for the 2024-25 cycle. Since the 2018-19 award year, the FAFSA has been released on October 1. Unfortunately, with less than
nine months until the expected release date, the timeline remains up in the air. The Biden Administration has not said when the new form and accompanying training materials and resources will become available. As a result, NCAN recently joined with
the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) to send a letter to Administration officials asking
them to confirm the timeline.
“Having a confirmed release date for the simplified FAFSA will allow high schools, colleges, state agencies, and college success programs ample time to put the systems and supports in place to reap the benefits for students,” said NCAN CEO Kim Cook.
Congress has extended the deadline for implementation by one year already. Under current law, the new process must go into effect during
the 2024-25 award year. The deadlines for state financial aid vary but start in the fall and some states allocate funding on a first come, first served basis.
NCAN members across the country are already planning for the release of the new FAFSA form. NCAN is planning to develop a FAFSA Training Toolkit and its members want to develop strategies, tools, and resources to help with the transition. Without
knowing when the field will receive official guidance from the U.S. Department of Education, it is in a holding pattern. “Training counselors on a completely revamped process for applying for financial aid will take time,” said NCAN Senior Director
of Strategic Initiatives MorraLee Keller.
For almost a decade, NCAN worked closely with NASFAA to advocate for legislation that would dramatically simplify the FAFSA, promote early awareness of financial aid awards for students,
and expand eligibility for low-income students. In 2019 and 2020, Congress passed and President Trump signed the FUTURE Act and the FAFSA Simplification, respectively.
As a result of these bills, it is estimated that 1.7 million additional students will be eligible for the maximum award and 550,000 students will be newly eligible to receive a Pell Grant. Students and their families will spend less time filling out the form while
shedding light on how much aid they will receive and increasing the awards of millions of students from low-income families.
“It's imperative that we work together to deliver on the promise of FAFSA simplification to help more students afford postsecondary education,” said Cook.
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