Long before the Department of Education's overhaul of federal student aid applications collapsed this year, officials currently leading the department were engaged in a complex and time-consuming effort, according to internal emails and documents obtained by The New. They say they were warned about potential pitfalls in 2020. York Times.
The document anticipated a tight schedule that would require departments to tightly manage priorities over several years in order to revamp application forms in time for students to apply for fall 2022. The document was created by the department's staff and circulated among soon-to-be top officials, including Education Undersecretary James Kvale and Deputy Undersecretary Benjamin Miller, after the 2020 election and before President Biden took office.
Despite officials being advised to prepare for a difficult process, it emerged that after three years they were still unable to submit a workable form, throwing the university application season into a tailspin. The scrutiny the ministry faces over its handling of the project is likely to become even more intense. turmoil earlier this year.
The documents were all distributed in December 2020, just as Congress was passing legislation that would require the department to overhaul the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as the FAFSA. The law mandates changes that include reducing the unwieldy 108-question form to a more manageable 36 questions, with the new form initially expected to be available to students by fall 2022. did.
Weeks before Biden took office, officials overseeing the presidential transition approached the Education Department to review outstanding issues among federal agencies as they began charting the new administration's priorities.
In some instances, transition team members were told by staff in the department's Office of Federal Student Aid that the Congressional-mandated 2022 deadline was too aggressive. They also warned that an overhaul of the forms and systems used to calculate student aid offers would be a major undertaking that would require collaboration with other institutions and skillful project management.
“Are there any issues floating on the top of the pile regarding FAFSA reform proposals that you think are worth alerting you to in case the standing team needs them on their radar?” The transition team asked the office in a survey. Asked.
“This bill fundamentally restructures the FAFSA and needs analysis methodology,” the agency said in its response, adding, “FSA believes that a more realistic implementation timeline would be the 2024-2025 cycle.” added.
In another example, the department said that even the regular launch of forms incorporating “typical annual changes” could take at least 15 months, and that getting forms ready by the 2022 deadline would be He advised that it was “almost impossible”.
In light of these warnings, the department sought a one-year extension, which Congress granted in March 2022, extending the deadline to October 1, 2023.
However, despite having plenty of time, the Ministry of Education repeatedly fell behind.
A series of errors and last-minute adjustments forced authorities to postpone the release of the simplified form from October 1 to December 31. And even after the new form was released, a maddening number of bugs affected both applicants and university administrators awaiting admission. Receive student aid data.
The Department of Education did not respond to requests for comment.
Current and former officials who worked to streamline the FAFSA after the scale of the problem became clear said department leaders often failed to review projects along the way, leaving other priorities, such as the Biden administration's poster child. He said he was overly focused on. Loan Forgiveness Plan.
The documents show that although government officials were warned early on that the law required significant action, it still failed to halt this year's difficult developments.
The Auditor General documented concerns about the department's progress in a June report, highlighting questions about the project's contractor management and urging the department to stay on schedule. The department is also investigating the department's overall management of the project.
After an agency-wide effort to fix the forms this spring, the department shifted its focus to reaching out to students who may have derailed or failed to apply for aid. Since February, the department has allocated $100 million to enhance student and university support and applications, nearly 30 percent of the total $336 million spent on simplification projects.
Since the problems with the 2023 form became public, Education Secretary Miguel A. Cardona has said the agency's hands are tied to Congressional deadlines and resources are limited to meet them. He has repeatedly stated that he has done his best to
Cardona said the department expects the form to function normally for students applying to the university this fall, and the change will benefit future applicants.
“The FAFSA has been a top priority since day one when we took these jobs, and it will continue to be a priority until we deliver results for these students,” Cardona told lawmakers in April. told.
