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On September 24, officials from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) provided testimony to the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development regarding challenges linked to the implementation of the revised Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). While the assessment was largely critical, it also acknowledged some recent advancements made by the Department of Education.
The GAO’s report highlighted several issues, including a troubling rollout that was marred by delays, technical difficulties, and glitches. Originally, the Department of Education aimed to simplify the FAFSA process for students, but the three-month delay and various tech issues hindered many applicants from completing necessary forms. Compounding these issues, the report noted that a significant number of calls to the help center went unanswered, with about 75% lacking response.
Drop in FAFSA Applications, Yet GAO Recognizes Improvement
In its preliminary findings, the GAO reported a notable decline in FAFSA applications. Specifically, high school seniors and first-time applicants saw a reduction of 325,000, equating to a 9% drop compared to the previous cycle. Additionally, returning applicants fell by 106,000, representing a 1% decrease, leading to an overall decline of 432,000 applicants, or 3% from the year prior. Among other concerns, some graduate students received incorrect information regarding Pell Grant eligibility.
Melissa Emrey-Arras, Director of Education, Workforce, and Income Security at GAO, emphasized during her testimony that the Department of Education has made strides in addressing these issues. She noted that the department successfully reduced applicant drop numbers from 1.4 million to 432,000 through partnerships with various stakeholders, including states and non-profits, along with extensive outreach via email, text messaging, and social media.
Emrey-Arras asserted, “The department needs to continue community partnerships and engage with students who have not submitted their FAFSA to ensure they are not overlooked.” She referenced improvements made to the application process, such as allowing parents without Social Security numbers to start or contribute to applications and enabling students born in 2000 to complete the FAFSA. These enhancements were implemented as of March 8, just two months after the launch.
Response from the Department of Education
An Education Department spokesperson provided a statement, highlighting the progress made since the first major overhaul of the FAFSA in over four decades. The spokesperson noted an increase of more than 500,000 students eligible for Pell Grants compared to the previous year.
“We have engaged with students, families, colleges, and partners, providing over 1,000 documents to the GAO,” the spokesperson elaborated. “Thanks to this feedback and our community initiatives, we have dramatically reduced the FAFSA completion gap to around 2%, down from 40% in March.” A link to a detailed report outlining progress was also shared.
Overview of GAO’s Study
The GAO’s investigation into the FAFSA rollout was prompted by a request from Republican members of Congress on January 24, 2024. The review focused on the impact of the rollout on students, the information and support they received, and how colleges were informed about changes.
The GAO team scrutinized data on FAFSA submissions and processing from the current application cycle (2024-25) and compared it with data from the previous year. They also analyzed performance metrics from the help center, conducted interviews with Education Department officials and stakeholders in the higher education space, and reviewed applicable federal laws and guidelines.
Recommendations for Improvement
To enhance the FAFSA process for the upcoming cycle, the GAO proposed seven recommendations to be implemented by December 2024. These include:
- Identifying solutions to minimize the burden on students and families by resolving remaining technical issues and refining the process for parent or spouse contributors.
- Improving translation services at the call center to accommodate languages beyond English and Spanish and expanding the FAFSA application to include more languages.
- Hiring sufficient staff to bolster capacity at the Federal Student Aid Information Center to ensure customer service meets demand.
- Establishing policies to effectively communicate essential milestones of the 2025-26 FAFSA and future cycles to colleges and stakeholders timely.
The GAO plans to monitor progress on these recommendations through its website.
Future Steps
During the hearing, Marisol Cruz Cain, director of GAO’s Information and Cybersecurity team, stated that the agency would track when the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) intends to deliver the remaining functionalities of the FAFSA and their respective timelines.
Cruz Cain expressed the transformative need to assess the testing levels conducted before the system’s launch and the subsequent evaluations. Additionally, GAO plans to investigate how the FSA and the Department of Education supervised contractors throughout the system’s development, including whether FSA possessed the necessary skill sets for effective contractor management and oversight.
The GAO is expected to release its final recommendations and findings in 2025. Following the hearing, the Department of Education announced plans to commence testing for the 2025-26 FAFSA in early October with select students recruited through community-based organizations. This beta testing phase aims to identify and rectify any system errors that may affect students, contributors, and educational institutions.
As per the press release, this initiative will help ensure the application process is more streamlined and effective for all parties involved.
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