McClellan pushing Department of Education on student-aid application glitches

Widespread glitches impacted at least 30 percent of 2024-2025 student aid applications, delaying award decisions for millions of students.

Fourth District Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan is pushing the Department of Education to figure out what’s going on, and do something ASAP to fix what’s wrong.

“I write to express concerns about the profound effects the six-month delay in delivering the 2024-2025 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) had on undergraduate students, particularly first-generation students,” McClellan wrote in a letter to Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “While I commend the Department’s commitment to improving FAFSA for students, families, borrowers, and schools, I worry about the long-term impact on the incoming class of students, continuing students, and the overall health of institutions should there be any further delays.”

McClellan urged the Department of Education to address the following issues to avoid further delays and ensure students can count on reliable FAFSA service:

• Clarify that institutions that calculated financial aid based on initial Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs) reports will not be required to to pay back funds to the Department if their aid eligibility later reduces due to ongoing FAFSA corrections.
• Delay implementation of the Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment Final Rule and IHE reporting deadlines.
• Allow institutions to convert unused Federal Work-Study (FSW) funds to Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) funds for students with high financial need.