Biden administration starts sending college financial aid data after monthslong delay – Washington Examiner

The Department of Education has finally started sending financial aid data to some colleges and universities, allowing them to put together offers for students after months of delays and technical speed bumps.

According to the Education Department, roughly two dozen universities began receiving student records Sunday.

The data, which were supposed to start being transmitted by the end of January, were delayed due to failures in updating the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form, and the program experienced a rocky soft rollout that left families unable to access the forms.

By the end of January, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), chairwoman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, called for an investigation into the Biden administration’s “botched” rollout, slamming the Education Department for forcing American families into financial uncertainty.

In early February, Cassidy announced that the Government Accountability Office had launched an investigation.

FAFSA data do not just affect prospective students and their financial aid packages — it is also used to determine how to allocate state and federal grants.

According to the Education Department, 5.5 million prospective students have filled out the new form, well below the typical 17 million who do so every year.

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Students typically have to commit to a university by May 1, and while many schools have extended enrollment deadlines, families across the country remain in the dark about how much financial assistance they could be receiving — a major factor for many students in deciding where to attend school.

The FAFSA form overhaul was mandated by Congress in 2020 to streamline the infamously complicated application process, reducing the 108-question form to 50, while using a more favorable financial formula to determine eligibility.

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