The Department of Education announced on Friday that a calculation error affecting hundreds of thousands of financial aid forms has been identified. This mistake could potentially cause further delays in students' aid awards, impacting their decisions on college enrollment for the upcoming academic year, according to financial aid experts.
The error adds to the challenges faced during this year's FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) process, which has been marred by delays and technical issues following the release of an updated version of the financial aid form that was highly anticipated.
Typically, colleges send out financial aid award letters in March and expect students to confirm their enrollment decisions by May 1 for the following fall semester. However, many colleges have had to extend this timeline due to the issues with the FAFSA.
The Department of Education's error led to incorrect financial need information, known as Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs), being transmitted to colleges. The affected ISIRs were those sent to schools before March 21, but the Department has since resolved the issue for information sent on or after that date.
Fortunately, the majority of the 1.5 million ISIRs sent to colleges have not been impacted. The Department of Education has issued instructions to colleges on how to work around the error so they can still process the affected ISIRs and provide tentative aid packages to students.
Justin Draeger, CEO of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, expressed concern over the situation, stating that such errors could lead to further processing delays for students. He emphasized the critical importance of need-based financial aid for students pursuing higher education and highlighted the significant impact that each error can have on students' aspirations.
