With the implementation of the FUTURE Act and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, Simplification Act, the rules for sharing FAFSA data changed in the 2025-26 award year. Data is now considered to be in two categories: Federal Tax Information
(FTI) or non-FTI FAFSA data. The Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) recently release guidance for state agencies and higher education institutions focused on the allowances for non-FTI FAFSA data sharing. As of today, we will await the same type of guidance related to sharing FTI FAFSA data.
The recent pieces of legislation have created many questions about what can be shared, who it can be shared with and whether you need student consent to do so. The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) has initiated a project with their members to survey them and issue a paper this spring focused on data-sharing practices. The National College Attainment Network (NCAN) has been invited to join in the project as many of our members who directly
serve students with FAFSA assistance may have been receiving FAFSA completion data in the past. Our goal is to hear from members that status of their ability to receive FAFSA data.
NCAN is asking those members whose program/organization directly support students and have previously/currently are receiving FAFSA completion or other FAFSA data to complete the survey found here.
NCAN will use the survey information gathered as we contribute to NASFAA’s white paper and inform the field related to FTI and non-FTI data sharing,
Please complete the survey by Friday, December 20 COB. Only one person per organization needs to complete the survey, so please coordinate the survey completion effort. NCAN is most appreciative
of your time and expertise on this topic. If you have any questions about the survey, please contact Catherine Brown at brownc@ncan.org.
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