[Oasfaa] FW: New Update on FAFSA files going to schools

Sun Mar 10 17:38:02 CDT 2024

Good afternoon,

Below please find a message regarding FAFSA ISIRs that was sent to us from Senator Lankford's office for dissemination to our institutions.

CB

Dr. Colbi Beam
Associate Vice Chancellor for State Grants and Scholarships
Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education

655 Research Parkway, Suite 200
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73104
cbeam at osrhe.edu<mailto:cbeam at osrhe.edu>

________________________________
From: Penner, Matthew (Lankford) <Matthew_Penner at lankford.senate.gov<mailto:Matthew_Penner at lankford.senate.gov>>
Sent: Friday, March 8, 2024 4:24:26 PM
To: Jobe, Jarrett <jjobe at osrhe.edu<mailto:jjobe at osrhe.edu>>
Subject: <<EXTERNAL E-MAIL>> FW: New Update on FAFSA files going to schools

-- THIS E-MAIL WAS RECEIVED FROM AN EXTERNAL SOURCE--

From: Fox, Patrick (HELP Committee) <Patrick_Fox at help.senate.gov<mailto:Patrick_Fox at help.senate.gov>>
Sent: Thursday, March 7, 2024 12:57 PM
To: Fox, Patrick (HELP Committee) <Patrick_Fox at help.senate.gov<mailto:Patrick_Fox at help.senate.gov>>
Cc: Sweeney, Ryan (HELP Committee) <Ryan_Sweeney at help.senate.gov<mailto:Ryan_Sweeney at help.senate.gov>>
Subject: New Update on FAFSA files going to schools

Hi All,

You might have seen that the Department of Education (Department) will be conducting FAFSA site maintenance<https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/library/electronic-announcements/2024-03-06/outage-alert-studentaidgov-maintenance-march-8-2024> on Friday, March 8, 2024, from approximately 3 a.m. until noon Eastern time. This means that during this time students will not be able to log-in to their studentaid.gov account to file their FAFSA applications; they can still use the website for general information.

The good news is the site maintenance is due to the Department preparing student account information to send FAFSA files to schools. YAY!

Earlier this week, the Department laid out the next steps<https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/library/electronic-announcements/2024-03-04/details-2024-25-fafsa-initial-institutional-student-information-records-isir-delivery-and-update-support-institutions-and-vendors>, including the order of operation to send student data to schools, known as ISIRs. The plan is to process a relatively small number of FAFSAs at first and gradually increase volume over time as they sort out additional processing bugs. Once the Department has finally "ramped up" FAFSA processing, they expect to be able to make it through the huge backlog of applications in "about two additional weeks" so closer to early April. New applications filed after processing begins will be added to the back of the queue. Once the queue is cleared, the Department said its goal is to return to more normal FAFSA turnaround times of three to five days from FAFSA application completion on the website to delivery at the schools requested by the student.

The full description of next steps is pasted below and please feel free to share with interested stakeholders including colleges and universities, high schools, and student and parent groups.

Please let me know if there are any questions.

Best,

Patrick

In the Jan. 30, 2024 Electronic Announcement<https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/library/electronic-announcements/2024-01-30/2024-25-fafsa-student-aid-index-update-and-timeline-updated-feb-15-2024> (EA ID: GENERAL-24-06) the Department announced updates to the timeline for processing of 2024-25 FAFSA forms. The Department remains committed to the timelines and details noted in that announcement, including:

  *   The Department will begin transmitting batches of FAFSA information (ISIRs) starting in the first half of March;
  *   We anticipate catching up with the majority of ISIR transmissions to schools in the weeks following the beginning of ISIR delivery;
  *   The Student Aid Index (SAI) calculation for student aid will reflect the updated SAI tables and the language in the Extension of Continuing Appropriations and Other Matters Act, 2024 to reset the -$1,500 minimum threshold on the allowance for negative income earned by dependent students;
  *   ISIRs will be sent to the schools and the state of residence that the applicant provided on the FAFSA form; and
  *   Online forms will be prioritized for processing first, followed by paper forms.

Preparing to Receive 2024-25 ISIR Files

If your organization has not yet completed the steps described in the Electronic Announcement Updated SAIG Enrollment Agreement Available Oct. 23, 2023 - Required Steps to Receive 2024-25 ISIRs<https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/library/electronic-announcements/2023-09-22/updated-saig-enrollment-agreement-available-oct-23-2023-required-steps-receive-2024-25-isirs-updated-feb-9-2024>, please act immediately to ensure your new FTI-SAIG mailbox is ready. In addition, updated Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG) software must be installed for your organization to access 2024-25 ISIRs. As explained in the Feb. 27 Electronic Announcement<https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/library/electronic-announcements/2024-02-27/additional-2024-25-fafsa-partner-preparation-support>, FSA transmitted a test file to all active FTI-SAIG mailboxes on Feb. 28, 2024. Active FTI-SAIG mailboxes have been assigned to partners who have signed and submitted the updated SAIG enrollment agreement. In addition, the partner must have installed updated SAIG software to participate in the test.

The purpose of the test is limited to assuring that a test file can be received in the active FTI-SAIG mailbox and retrieved by the associated partner. The test file was sent in the SAIG message class ISRF25OP and its content included the date sent and a message noting that it is a test file. The test file does not mimic an ISIR file and should not be downloaded into the partner's system.

Last week, the Department released a test data file of system-generated test ISIRs. These system-generated test ISIR data cover different student scenarios. These records also provide examples of federal tax information (FTI) retrieved from the IRS, showing if the IRS FTI can be used, and when to use self-reported FTI. There will be examples of all three formulas (A, B, and C) used to calculate the new SAI along with the intermediate values, Max Pell Indicator, and Min Pell Indicator. We will continue to update additional test ISIRs and open-source tools stored in a public U.S. Department of Education GitHub repository<https://github.com/usedgov/fafsa-test-isirs-2024-25>.

Transmission of 2024-25 ISIR Files

As previously announced, the Department will begin transmitting batches of FAFSA information (ISIRs) to states and institutions in the first half of March. We are providing additional information on what stakeholders and institutions can expect as we start transmitting small batches of completed applications to schools and ramp up to processing larger batches in the days and weeks following. We anticipate:

  *   ISIRs will be generated by student with the student's information sent to each of the schools and state listed on the application.
  *   As we are preparing the system, the Department will initiate a planned pause to StudentAid.gov for a number of hours to prepare our systems.
  *   Once the Department reopens the site, additional work will be required to test our systems prior to ISIR delivery.
  *   In the days following, the Department will start transmitting very small batches of ISIRs (1-2) to a few dozen schools identified on the first submitted applications as part of the process to test ISIR delivery.
  *   During this testing phase, the Department will get feedback from that small subset of schools to identify any technical issues or changes that need to be made before starting to ramp up ISIR delivery to a broader set of institutions.
  *   Once the testing phase concludes, the Department will gradually ramp up delivery. During this period, some institutions may receive no ISIRs or as little as one ISIR each day depending on the schools identified by the applicant. Some institutions may receive multiple batches of ISIRs per day.
  *   The volume of ISIRs institutions and states receive per day will vary and will grow larger as we scale during the ramp-up period.
  *   At peak, we expect that the majority of institutions will receive no more than 1,500 ISIRs per day. The top 5% of institutions by volume may receive up to 25,000 ISIRs per day. We will continue to work with our institutional, vendor, and third-party servicer partners to monitor and manage any volume concerns.
  *   Once we have ramped up delivery, we anticipate it will take about two additional weeks to process all applications that have already been submitted. This is consistent with the timeline we announced on January 30.
  *   The Department will provide regular updates on our progress towards completing processing of submitted FAFSA applications on the Knowledge Center<https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/topics/fafsa-simplification-information/2024-25-fafsa-updates>.
  *   Once processing has begun, new applications submitted while we are processing completed applications will be added to the end of the queue.
  *   When the Congressional appropriations process has completed and determined the 2024-25 Maximum Federal Pell Grant award amount, ISIRs will be reprocessed to reflect any update.

Once we've completed our ramp-up and processed all FAFSA forms that were submitted, we anticipate that the turnaround time from application to processing will return to normal ranges. Typically, this is three to five days for an online form. Once processing begins, we will post updates on our progress to the Knowledge Center on the 2024-25 FAFSA Updates<https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/topics/fafsa-simplification-information/2024-25-fafsa-updates> page.

Support for Institutions, Software Vendors, and Third-Party Servicers As They Prepare to Receive ISIRs

  *   The Department is continuing to provide support to schools and vendors as they prepare to receive submitted applications. Schools interested in receiving support can request it via the mailbox CollegeSupportStrategy-FAFSA at ed.gov<mailto:CollegeSupportStrategy-FAFSA at ed.gov>.
  *   We have proactively reached out to nearly 450 schools offering support to help them prepare to package aid offers. Roughly 150 schools have requested technical assistance.
  *   We have matched nearly all schools requesting technical assistance as they prepare to process applications with a federal liaison or a nonprofit partner. All schools requesting technical assistance will be matched with a nonprofit partner by end of next week.
  *   We are also deploying personnel to campuses to conduct deeper needs assessments, and our nonprofit partners are coordinating with schools they've been matched with to provide support virtually or onsite where needed.
  *   The Department has been regularly meeting with vendors and third-party servicers to share updates and make sure they are prepared to start receiving completed aid applications.
  *   As we enter into the final testing phases before we begin processing applications, we will continue to be in close touch with vendors to receive feedback before and during our ramp-up period.

Impacts to Students and Families

The Department has been working to provide timely updates to students and families regarding the changes to 2024-25 FAFSA processing timeline via the FAFSA Support page<https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/fafsa-support>, email campaigns, Federal Student Aid's social media channels, and other deliverables. Key messaging includes:

  *   FAFSA eligibility information will be sent to schools and states in the first half of March.
  *   Until schools and states receive the FAFSA information, they won't be able to answer questions about aid eligibility or status.
  *   Once schools receive students' FAFSA information, they will need additional time to provide personal financial aid award information.
  *   Students can review their application status on StudentAid.gov.
  *   Students will receive a FAFSA Submission Summary after their form has been processed. Students may immediately use the Submission Summary to review their form answers and understand any actions needed to complete their form.
  *   The Department will follow-up in the coming weeks with an email notifying students that their form has been processed and their information has been sent to their schools and state.
  *   Students with contributors without a Social Security Number will be able to submit their FAFSA application the first half of March.
  *   Students who need to make corrections to their form will be able to do so later in March.

Stay Informed

As we begin our implementation of 2024-25 FAFSA processing, you may experience intermittent system outages. We will provide information on planned outages as it is available.

We will continue to update the 2024-25 FAFSA Updates<https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/topics/fafsa-simplification-information/2024-25-fafsa-updates> page and provide processing updates noted in this announcement. We encourage our partners to sign up for Knowledge Center Subscription<https://fsapartners.ed.gov/subscriptions> emails to receive the latest news on a daily or weekly basis.

Get Help

For technical issues related to ISIR processing:

  *   For support with your SAIG agreement and mailbox, or for help with technical issues related to ISIR processing, the FAFSA Partner Portal (FPP), or EDExpress, please contact the FPS Help Desk (formerly CPS/SAIG Technical Support) at 1-800-330-5947 or by email at support at fps.ed.gov<mailto:support at fps.ed.gov>.
  *   For issue alerts and frequently asked questions, please visit the 2024-25 FAFSA Updates<https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/topics/fafsa-simplification-information/2024-25-fafsa-updates> page on the Knowledge Center.
  *   For general questions related to the 2024-25 FAFSA, we welcome our partners to continue using the Contact Customer Support form<https://fsapartners.ed.gov/help-center/contact-customer-support> in FSA's Partner Connect Help Center. To submit a question, please enter your name, email address, topic, and question. When submitting a question, please select the topic "2024-25 FAFSA."

To request assistance with financial aid management systems configuration or processing applications:

  *   For schools that need direct technical assistance related to processing applications and packaging aid award offers, please continue submitting your requests to the College Support Concierge mailbox CollegeSupportStrategy-FAFSA at ed.gov<mailto:CollegeSupportStrategy-FAFSA at ed.gov>.

[cid:image013.png at 01D93735.36D71540]

Patrick Fox | Education Policy Advisor

Patrick_Fox at help.senate.gov<mailto:Patrick_Fox at help.senate.gov>

[cid:image014.png at 01D93735.36D71540]

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