The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Simplification Act is set to be implemented by Jan. 1, 2024, in time for the 2024-25 academic year. The Simplification Act includes a few key goals and requirements, including changing the financial aid eligibility formula from Expected Family Contribution to the new Student Aid Index. Because many state financial aid program eligibility requirements are tied directly to Pell Grant eligibility, SHEEO is working with its members to understand how changes made to the FAFSA could impact students in their state, including their own state financial aid.
SHEEO is also working directly with the U.S. Department of Education to communicate state needs and concerns around the implementation and unintended consequences of the FAFSA Simplification Act.
The U.S. Department of Education announced that the 2025-26 FAFSA will be delayed until Dec. 1, 2024. Beta testing of the FAFSA begins October 1 with designated community-based organizations. SHEEO hosted a webinar in conjunction with NASSGAP on Sept. 23 to discuss the upcoming FAFSA and unintended consequences of the 2024-25 delay on state aid and Pell eligibility.
Resources
With feedback from states, SHEEO has created a front-and-back fact sheet about upcoming FAFSA changes. States can use this pdf to fill in their own state name and information to communicate with key stakeholders who need a high-level view of FAFSA Simplification.
Briefs and Reports
- FAFSA Simplification Successes: A Four-State Case Study of Best Practices and Completion Strategies: Rachel Burns and Dustin Weeden
- National and State Impacts of FAFSA Simplification: Rachel Burns
- FAFSA Simplification Guidebook: Rachel Burns and Mark Weiderspan
- 2024-25 FAFSA Simplification Best Practices and Guidance
Events
SHEEO hosted an in-person FAFSA Simplification Convening in December 2023 for a small group of states to discuss financial aid best practices, FAFSA modeling, and to hear directly from Federal Student Aid. SHEEO hosted an event for the Financial Aid Learning Community on Sept. 7-8. Resources from that event can be found here.
SHEEO hosted a FAFSA Simplification webinar in March 2023 to share predictive modeling of how FAFSA simplification will affect specific subpopulations of students, both in regard to Pell grant eligibility/awards, and state financial aid eligibility. The North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority discussed how they are modeling and responding to FAFSA simplification in their state, with particular focus on their state student aid programs.
For recordings of the online webinars, please email sheeo@sheeo.org.
Contact Us
For inquiries about the FAFSA modeling tool, contact Rachel Burns at rburns@sheeo.org. For additional questions about FAFSA Simplification and how SHEEO can help your state prepare for these upcoming changes, contact Dustin Weeden at dweeden@sheeo.org.
