A U.S. Department of Education miscalculation has led to 200,000 FAFSA forms being delayed in being sent to students.
The Department of Education announced March 22 that while sending out records to universities, it discovered a miscalculation that resulted in inaccurate aid estimates for over 200,000 institutional student information records, or ISIRs.
“This issue should not prevent schools from processing ISIRs and preparing aid packages, and only affects ISIRs delivered prior to March 21,” the Department said in a March 22 statement.
The department’s error has strained college financial aid offices across the country, including at UCA.
Kimberly Stubbs, director of financial aid, said while the delay has affected UCA, the situation is not dire.
UCA’s Ellucian Banner system preserved students’ FAFSA data, Stubbs said, and students can make corrections to their FAFSA forms by mid-April.
Stubbs said the federal government’s “Better FAFSA” plan was “a work in progress.”
“The Department has been very forthcoming with the information they have given us,” Stubbs said. “There were a lot of challenges and a lot of changes they’ve had to make.”
“Our SOAR [Summer Orientation and Academic Registration] numbers are looking great,” Stubbs said. “UCA has done a great job in giving information to students.”
“We’ve gone out to schools and done FAFSA workshops for students and tried to let them know the delays that are there,” Stubbs said. “[We] have tried to be very forthcoming in our statements about what’s going on.”
Stubbs encouraged students to visit the financial aid office in Harrin Hall if they have questions or need help filling out the FAFSA.
“They don’t have to wait to fill it out just because we’re having delays in getting the data,” Stubbs said. “When we are able to start data processing in the next few weeks we will be able to get their information out there for them.”
“Surprisingly, our application numbers are up by around 5% compared to this time last year,” Director of Admissions Ashley Berry said. “With the help of UCA Commitment and our fantastic staff, we’ve been able to maintain enrollment goals.”
The Office of Admissions has also made efforts to communicate with applicants during the delay.
“Our Enrollment Services Division has been instrumental in this group effort providing excellent service and communication to our prospective students,” Berry said.
“Our monthly outreach has been very transparent on the delays and what that means for students and families,” Berry said. “We are navigating this situation with a mindset of patience, flexibility and accessibility for our future Bears.”
The Department of Education said it is working to resolve the error and will release an alert on the 2024-25 FAFSA issues alerts page when resolved.
