University officials in Wichita said they are losing patience with the federal government amid more problems with must-have paperwork to get higher education money.
by Marcus Clem
Seven months of federal paperwork headaches have left Amy Stoltzfus frustrated.
She’s an associate financial aid director at Friends University who helps students navigate the maze of forms and figure out how they will pay for college.
An update meant to make it easier for college students to apply for financial aid ended up doing the opposite.
“It’s kind of like, ‘Good luck, financial aid offices,’ right?” Stoltzfus said. “Students are the ones that are ultimately going to suffer.”
Any student who wants a federal student loan or grant must fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or the long-dreaded FAFSA form. Students file 17.5 million FAFSAs each year, including about 87% of first-year students, the U.S. Department of Education reported.
Any denials or delays can leave students without money to pay for tuition, housing, food and books.
Officials like Stoltzfus know some will just wait for the hassles that come with the new-look FAFSA to iron out and try to adapt. Others might turn to expensive private loans. A few may choose not to attend college at all without knowing what kind of aid, if any, they can count on.
The FAFSA 2024 paperwork avalanche
The problem started with good intentions. In 2020, Congress ordered a streamlining of the FAFSA process to reduce bureaucratic delays.
Instead, the department released a broken product.
The department scheduled the new form to roll out in October 2023, but it delayed the launch until January. The system then suffered from months of online glitches and repeated crashes.
NPR reported that January filers experienced an average delay of four to six weeks while the Department of Education worked to fix an error that would have harmed lower-income students.
Elizabeth, a junior at Friends University, struggled to use the new online system. She finally resorted to mailing a paper form, which can take an extra two to three weeks to process.
Elizabeth, who asked her last name not be used to protect her family, worries her financial aid won’t arrive until September — weeks after classes start.
“It’s really tough, especially when you know that you’ve done everything right,” she said. “I got in contact with the financial aid office as soon as I could. I scoured the internet for any tips. It was so difficult.”
Friends is working with students like her, Stoltzfus said, letting them defer tuition payments until their federal aid arrives. The original deadline was Aug. 19.
Elizabeth said she relies on federal grants, family contributions and scholarships to pay for tuition and fees at Friends.
If Friends hadn’t given her more time, Elizabeth said she might not have attended this year.
“It put me in a place I hope to never be in again,” she said. “I know my parents asked me to fill out the paper form for next year as soon as possible, so we don’t have to worry about this.”
The bad batches
The Department of Education’s problems aren’t over. It will miss its October target for releasing next year’s forms, pushing the date to Dec. 1.
Students will again have less time to file for the 2025-2026 academic year.
Meanwhile, universities are still dealing with this year’s flawed form.
Students or their parents can easily make mistakes on the forms — entering the wrong income or making a typo in a Social Security number. Sometimes, the Department of Education flags errors where none exist.
Delays stacked on top of each other, forcing university officials to address errors later in the year than ever before.
And the problems continue to pile up.
Stoltzfus had expected to send in batches of 200 corrected forms starting in August. But the Department of Education said in late July the batch system won’t go online. Now, university officials must fix forms one at a time, Stoltzfus said.
“As far as we knew, batch corrections were going to be available in August,” she said. “Well, here we are in August, and we get the department’s notification, ‘Sorry, we’re moving on.’”
In an email, the Department of Education said it was focusing on getting ready for next year and would not update the batch system this year.
“We recognize the challenges deferring the batch corrections functionality causes for institutions and the students who are waiting to access their aid,” the department said.
Michael Probus, vice president of enrollment management at Newman University, came into the ongoing problems when he was hired earlier this year.
“Delaying the batch corrections to focus on 2025-2026 is a disservice to the current population,” Probus said. “I’m still skeptical that they will be up and running by December.”
The Department of Education said the 2025-2026 process will be well-tested, robust and ready.
How FAFSA 2024 may affect enrollment
Probus said we may never know how many students nationwide encountered FAFSA problems and decided not to go to college this year.
“The part that breaks my heart is,” Probus said, “are there students who just won’t follow their dreams? Or, they’ll put their dreams on hold because they had no time and no information.”
Universities calculate enrollment 20 days after classes start. That could show if FAFSA problems caused a drop in enrollment.
“It’s something that’s completely out of our hands, Probus said. “That really puts students and families at a disadvantage.”
Universities rely on the FAFSA to gauge student interest, since students can share their information with multiple schools.
Though most of the prospects don’t end up enrolling, Stoltzfus said she’s seen a 40% drop compared to last year.
Newman saw a 21% decline in prospects from last year. Notably, the university saw a 7.5% increase in students who enrolled without completing the FAFSA.
Friends University reported an on-campus enrollment of just under 1,400 students last year. Newman counted about 1,300.
Wichita State University’s main campus enrolled 17,548 students last year, including online students. The university declined interview requests about the FAFSA, saying financial aid officials were not available.
Preparing future college students
Returning students ultimately complete the FAFSA on their own initiative. High school seniors can expect stronger guidance.
Cammie Kennedy, who runs the college prep program at Wichita East High School, teaches hundreds of juniors and seniors how to fill out the FAFSA each year.
Even though it’s been frustrating, she’s optimistic that the FAFSA system will improve and become easier for students to complete.
“The hiccups, the errors, have been resolved for the most part,” Kennedy said. “From the high school perspective, we’re prepared.”
East High School senior Kaylie Giang plans to study biochemistry at Drake University. She worked with Kennedy and completed the FAFSA over the summer to get an idea about how much financial aid she’ll qualify for.
“You look around on social media and a lot of people are like, ‘Oh, I hate the FAFSA, it’s so much work.’ But if you need help, you know, you just come to Ms. Kennedy’s office,” she said.
Staff across the district touch base with students to make sure they have their papers in order, Kennedy said. When it became clear in April that FAFSA problems would be a longer-term concern, she said, the district’s efforts went into overdrive.
Kennedy aims to have as many students as possible with all of their information ready by Dec. 1 so they’ve essentially completed their FAFSA when the online form opens.
Wichita Public Schools publishes extensive advice on its website. But Kennedy advises students in any district to ask staff for help.
“They have someone like me in every high school, and our job is to prepare them to be future ready,” Kennedy said. “We’re with them every step of the way.”
This article was republished here with the permission of: The Beacon