New FAFSA Survey Confirms Extensive Impact on Fall Class

According to a new NAICU survey of private, nonprofit colleges and universities, three-quarters of institutions said the availability and issues with the processing of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) affected their incoming fall class.  Nearly half of institutions said their fall 2024 class was “harder to fill” due to the FAFSA delays.

Additionally, nearly nine-in-ten respondents reported that the Department of Education did not provide enough information to campuses on FAFSA progress during the roll out of the new form.

These results are from a post-enrollment survey NAICU conducted as a follow-up to a similar survey conducted in June.  The recent online survey was in the field from September 18-October 4, and includes responses from 251 institutions, including detailed accounts from open-ended questions about their experiences.

The surveys were conducted to better assess the impact of FAFSA delays and recent changes to student aid eligibility formulas on campuses before and after the start of the school year.  The post-enrollment survey included the same core set of questions as the one in June, but included additional questions requested by lead congressional staff about the Department’s communication efforts.

Among the findings:

• 74% of institutions reported that FAFSA availability and processing issues impacted their incoming class, with 49% finding it harder to fill and 44% reporting smaller class sizes.
• Issues related to FAFSA availability and processing influenced the amount of institutional aid distributed for most schools (58%), with 37% of colleges increasing aid and 16% decreasing it.
• 80% of respondents noted changes to the need analysis formulas affected campus aid eligibility, particularly the factor considering the number of family members in college (67%) and the expansion of Pell Grant income eligibility (60%).
• A substantial majority (85%) of institutions felt the Department did not provide enough information on FAFSA progress, with concerns about both information timeliness (90%) and clarity (88%).

In addition, 82% of institutions reported that FAFSA issues affected other institutional processes such as housing, registration, billing, and administrative planning. Also, a large share of institutions (87%) continued to feel the impact of the FAFSA delays in technical and unresolved processing issues, experienced a change in the percentage of Pell Grant recipients in their incoming class (81%), and saw an increase in stress levels on staff and resources (98%). 

NAICU will continue to monitor FAFSA progress and maintain regular contact with the Department.