FAFSA Updates: 2025-26 Timeline Released, Guidance Issued on Resolving Conflicting Information, New Leader Named
The Department of Education made several notable announcements this week that will affect the current and future FAFSA forms. The most highly visible news was the naming of former College Board President Jeremy Singer as the FAFSA Executive Advisor, while the Department also released a timeline for the 2025-2026 FAFSA form release and clarified guidance on how institutions can resolve conflicting information that may affect students’ Title IV eligibility.
In his role as Executive Advisor, Singer will lead the Department’s closing of the 2024-2025 FAFSA cycle and the launch of the 2025-2026 FAFSA form. Singer is regarded as a technology expert who, among other efforts at the College Board, oversaw the creation of the online SAT.
Turning to next year’s FAFSA, the Department announced that the 2025-2026 form will be essentially the same as this year’s, so there will be no public comment period leading up to next year’s release. Instead, the Department is conducting a series of listening sessions throughout July to solicit feedback from stakeholders, including students, families, college representatives, and state higher education leaders. A request for information will also be released to gather input from interested parties unable to attend the listening sessions.
Additionally, the Department gave a status update on when they expect to deliver the functionalities that remain missing from this year’s process. They expect to meet the “end of June” deadline for processing paper FAFSAs and allowing institutions to make manual corrections through the FAFSA Partner Portal. Further corrections functionality, such as bulk processing for large quantities of changes, or for adjusting paper FAFSAs, will now not be provided until mid-August, adding another level of unpredictability and burden for affected families and institutions alike.
The latest guidance from the Department clarifies under which circumstances discrepant data from a student’s application for federal student aid may qualify as “conflicting information” for the 2024-2025 award year. The notice lists common examples of conflicting information, such as, “questions on the status of a student’s high school diploma, academic progress, enrollment, and tax filing status.” Institutions are required to resolve any suspected conflicting information in students’ data before disbursing funds.
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Justin Monk