Fyi Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone Get Outlook for Android<https://aka.ms/AAb9ysg> ________________________________ From: NCAN <ncan@ncan.org> Sent: Thursday, November 14, 2024 3:19:00 PM To: Jean, Reggie <reggie@bu.edu> Subject: BREAKING: FAFSA To Be Widely Available Before Dec 1 Exact date has yet to be announced View in browser<https://458rl1jp.r.us-east-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fwww.ncan.org%2Fview.aspx%3FmessageId=f69a375927984a9e8d4306e60287b611/1/010001932c544629-c3512288-9689-4665-b540-24545cf7ab0d-000000/ucJFco5pjCAVm0706j8Pu3br5YM=400> [NCAN logo]<https://458rl1jp.r.us-east-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fwww.ncan.org%2F/1/010001932c544629-c3512288-9689-4665-b540-24545cf7ab0d-000000/BU4rBpqW_co9HeDVK-735AUEvuk=400> BREAKING: 2025-26 FAFSA To Be Widely Available Before December 1 Today the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) announced<https://458rl1jp.r.us-east-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fwww.ed.gov%2Fabout%2Fnews%2Fpress-release%2Fus-department-of-education-announces-final-beta-testing-period-2025-26-fafsa-form/1/010001932c544629-c3512288-9689-4665-b540-24545cf7ab0d-000000/bWTeDxJcWpSawKJRGivwvKJr3VE=400> that it will expand its Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) beta testing before December 1 to all students who wish to complete a 2025-26 FAFSA. The exact date of the expansion has not been shared. That news will be posted on its Beta Central site<https://458rl1jp.r.us-east-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Ffsapartners.ed.gov%2Fbeta/1/010001932c544629-c3512288-9689-4665-b540-24545cf7ab0d-000000/ZtT2crqvlJvSA0jGCUdE-Edk9gA=400> and with a text box announcement on the FAFSA web site when live. More than 13,000 students have successfully submitted a FAFSA during the test period to date. These forms are actual FAFSAs that have been processed and information has been sent to state agencies and the institutions listed on the form. The functionality during the expansion is identical to what will be available after the official launch and will allow families to get the FAFSA process under way sooner than expected. “[The National College Attainment Network, or NCAN] is encouraged by the success of the FAFSA beta testing and the ability to open the application widely to all students before December 1,” said Kim Cook, NCAN CEO. “We hope this helps fuel record FAFSA completion rates<https://458rl1jp.r.us-east-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fwww.ncan.org%2Fgeneral%2Fcustom.asp%3Fpage=FAFSAtracker/1/010001932c544629-c3512288-9689-4665-b540-24545cf7ab0d-000000/qFrLczIsBBAmqAdv213F-SLuDd4=400> for the high school class of 2025 and returning students.” This expanded testing period will precede the actual scheduled launch of the form on or before December 1. Beta testing has been very successful for students and has helped FSA identify and fix several bugs and technical glitches in the system. As the issues were identified, FSA took immediate action and fixed items for both the 2024-25 FAFSA and the 2025-26 FAFSA. FSA has indicated that doing a wide expansion like this is a common practice in the software industry. This expansion will help ensure that the software is working well and can support a high volume before the official release date. Many NCAN member organizations have participated in the various phases of the beta testing and have high praise for the process and results. We encourage our members to begin supporting students during the testing period. It is our strong recommendation that you help your students and their contributors set up their StudentAid.gov accounts (FSA ID) several days prior to completing the FAFSA to facilitate a smooth user experience. Organizations may want to consider offering FAFSA workshops sooner than previously planned. FSA has indicated that a PDF version of a paper FAFSA will be available upon the official release date which NCAN will link to here<https://458rl1jp.r.us-east-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fwww.ncan.org%2Fpage%2Fpractitioner-resources/1/010001932c544629-c3512288-9689-4665-b540-24545cf7ab0d-000000/lS5VDEYmlAZG2oDv2-S20SRugaU=400>. FSA has nearly doubled the staff for the call center. As with any new cycle, call volume will likely be high and there may be some extended wait times. The center is adding some evening and Saturday hours to accommodate FAFSA questions. Our hope is that increased staffing and training will result in better support for those who call. The software vendors are working diligently to get colleges the updated software needed to process ISIRs. Some colleges’ systems were prepped and were able to receive and test ISIRs during the beta period. FSA will be sending ISIRs as the forms are processed but colleges will have to establish their own schedule for importing them when their software is ready. NCAN applauds the efforts by FSA to enhance the user experience and fixing many bugs and technical glitches that were experienced for the current cycle. We know that there are some issues that FSA will continue to work on and will keep the community updated through their FAFSA Issue Alerts page<https://458rl1jp.r.us-east-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Ffsapartners.ed.gov%2Fknowledge-center%2Ftopics%2Ffafsa-simplification-information%2Ffafsa-issue-alerts/1/010001932c544629-c3512288-9689-4665-b540-24545cf7ab0d-000000/_TOWQ01XxXF6N1i0S9-aYRGhI6E=400>. National College Attainment Network 800 17th St. NW #630 Washington, DC 20006 Phone: (202) 347-4848 | www.ncan.org<http://458rl1jp.r.us-east-1.awstrack.me/L0/http:%2F%2Fwww.ncan.org/1/010001932c544629-c3512288-9689-4665-b540-24545cf7ab0d-000000/CzxgwYBDuuKTdpKALXCtvpFOb2o=400> [Facebook Icon]<https://458rl1jp.r.us-east-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FNationalCollegeAttainmentNetwork%2F/1/010001932c544629-c3512288-9689-4665-b540-24545cf7ab0d-000000/QIaA1j0jBKT-lDskx9rf-3XmfL8=400> [Twitter Icon]<https://458rl1jp.r.us-east-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FNCANetwork/1/010001932c544629-c3512288-9689-4665-b540-24545cf7ab0d-000000/j4TSwaeGHQvNiqtOU00ksfQC2Fg=400> [LinkedIn Icon]<https://458rl1jp.r.us-east-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fbit.ly%2F3iGGIhU/1/010001932c544629-c3512288-9689-4665-b540-24545cf7ab0d-000000/FsNKatnJTPk-jVTXhGFyKt_weGM=400> If you would like to unsubscribe, please click here<http://458rl1jp.r.us-east-1.awstrack.me/L0/http:%2F%2Fwww.ncan.org%2Fmembers%2FEmailOptPreferences.aspx%3Fid=57100180%26e=reggie@bu.edu%26h=c70011fb7bfca2af4c7b4dc31c895e4ae0618c25/1/010001932c544629-c3512288-9689-4665-b540-24545cf7ab0d-000000/Q-PBLr3OpeqJTe-5jUHg6fPLmm4=400>. 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