By Catherine Brown, Senior Director, Policy and Advocacy
Reading time: Five minutes
Today, the National College Attainment Network (NCAN) along with the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC), National Association of State Student Grant & Aid Programs (NASSGAP), and State Higher Education Officers Association (SHEEO) sent the
following letter to US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona about the 2025-26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) release. We sent this letter after a great deal of consideration and discussion with our members and partners about the trade-off between full functionality of the FAFSA system and timeliness. It is our understanding there is no path to an October 1 FAFSA release that is user-tested, fully functional, and allows for processing within one-to-three days. Furthermore, releasing the form in advance of a working processing system would delay the ability to process FAFSAs correctly and in a timely manner, and introduce
errors to the system that could be prevented with more time to identify and address issues.
As a result, and in consultation with others in the field, we concluded that a delayed release of a system with end-to-end functionality and accompanying outreach and communication tools would be preferable to a system that is rushed out the door, error
ridden, and unreliable. We saw the results of the latter approach last year: a significant reduction in the number of completed FAFSAs and eroded confidence in the system among counselors, administrators, students and families. It is an outcome we
are determined to avoid this year.
We did not come to this decision lightly. We have been advocating for an October 1 FAFSA release date for many months, including by naming it our most urgent and important policy priority for the 2025-26 award year. But we have also said that transparency and certainty is paramount for our members. They need to know when the FAFSA will be released so they can plan FAFSA completion events and counseling
strategies. We need a certain release date that the field can rely on to plan, and we need confidence that when the system opens, it will work for everyone. We believe that delaying the release date to allow time for addressing issues is the best
path forward. Read the full text of the letter here.
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