New Changes to Financial Aid

Starting on October 1, the Department will release the 2025-26 FAFSA form for testing with a limited set of students and institutions. The Department will make the application available to all students on or before December 1. The goal of the phased rollout of the 2025-26 FAFSA form, consistent with software industry best-practices, is to work with limited groups of users to identify and resolve the kind of system errors that can derail millions of students and contributors and thousands of colleges. A phased rollout will also allow the Department to incorporate user feedback to ensure the application’s instructions are clear and easy-to-use for students and contributors and provide resources for the community that supports students and families.

What this means for you:

We encourage students to prepare with their 2023 tax information and FSA UserID and passwords to submit the 25/26 FAFSA beginning on December 1.

Update Additional Identity Verification

In typical award years, schools may receive a small number of FAFSA files that are selected for verification. In these situations, schools must take action by completing the verification process, to verify information from students regarding their eligibility for Title IV funds. In an  Electronic Announcement (GENERAL-24-11) the U.S. Department of Education announced that it would be significantly reducing verification requirements while continuing key measures focused on avoiding identity fraud. However, because the identity verification selection process for potential fraud is also delayed, subsequent FAFSAs with applicable Verification Tracking flags will not be available to schools until later in the calendar year. To mitigate the possibility of awarding and disbursing aid to individuals who are needing additional verification documents for the 2024-25 Award Year, a report containing the list of students who should undergo identity verification will be sent to institutions beginning July 15, 2024.

What this means for you:

Texas A&M University Kingsville will assist students who have already received awards by offering flexibility with deadlines for those selected for verification or encountering conflicting data that needs resolution to receive Title IV funding. We encourage you to regularly check your JNET, Blue and Gold, and Student email for any required actions to maintain your Title IV aid.

Update on Paper FAFSA Processing:

The Department previously announced that  they are in the final stages of testing for processing paper applications (approximately 0.4% of all applications). They have identified issues in testing which has delayed the launch of this functionality. The Department does not have a date for a resolution.

Their estimates continue to indicate that approximately half of these applicants have also applied online and the Department has already processed their FAFSA forms. Department of Education estimates that approximately 20% of the remaining forms will require additional information before they can be processed, and they will be returning these forms directly to the student.

What this means for you:

If  a student has submitted a 2024-2025 paper FAFSA that has not been processed, we encourage you to attempt to complete an electronic application at  www.studentaid.gov. Please contact us at 361-593-5372 to schedule an in-person or virtual visit as the Department of Education does not have a timeline to complete the paper application process and may be returning some submitted forms.

Update on Processing Paper FAFSA Forms and the Implementation of School-Initiated Corrections via the FAFSA Partner Portal

• With the launch of the new FAFSA, the Department strongly encouraged students and contributors to complete the online form, rather than submitting and sending paper forms in the mail. Currently, fewer than one-half of one percent of 2024-25 FAFSA submissions are paper FAFSA forms. Some of these students may have also filed an online FAFSA, which the Department is processing within 1 to 3 days, and which would supersede paper forms. The Department recommends that all students, even those who have submitted a paper FAFSA, complete the online FAFSA if possible  unless the student filed a paper FAFSA to meet an aid or scholarship deadline prior to the availability of online processing. Filing an online FAFSA will negate the paper filing date.
• The Department will begin processing 2024-25 paper FAFSA forms – including those submitted by confined or incarcerated students – by the end of June. Once processed, students who submitted a paper FAFSA form and provided a valid email address will receive an email telling them that they can access their FAFSA Submission Summary on StudentAid.gov. Students who did not provide a valid email address, and incarcerated students in general, will receive the results of their form’s processing via a paper FAFSA Submission Summary sent by postal mail within 7-10 days after processing. With consideration to internet access limitations for incarcerated students, when possible, all students, regardless of application method, are encouraged to create an account username and password (FSA ID) to view the real-time status of their application on StudentAid.gov.
• Institutions will be able to submit corrections via the FAFSA Partner Portal (FPP) by the end of June. The FPP will allow institutions to submit corrections electronically by entering the data manually in the FAFSA Partner Portal. Batch institutional corrections via the Electronic Data Exchange (EDE) will be available in the weeks following FPP corrections.

What this means for you:

Any documents submitted for verification and/or review for special circumstances requests will not be possible to make updates to your student file until the beginning of July. We appreciate students' patience as institutions cannot make the necessary corrections.

Students who have submitted a paper FAFSA are encouraged to continue to attempt to submit the electronic FAFSA form for expedited processing. The Department of Education will not begin processing paper FAFSA submissions until the end of June.

Timeline for student corrections:  Our goal is to make student corrections broadly available early next week. Once they are able to do so, students who need to make corrections or who choose to make additions or changes to their FAFSA forms should return to StudentAid.gov to complete those updates. We will communicate publicly that students needing to make corrections, such as adding schools, providing a signature, and allowing for IRS data to be shared can do so by logging into their account. For most applicants and contributors, this process should only take a few minutes. Schools and states should typically receive a new ISIR transaction, and students should typically be able to review their updated FAFSA Submission Summary, within 1 to 3 days of the applicant’s submission of a correction.

What this means for you:

Students should be able to log in and make all necessary updates as of April 15, 2024. Students may follow the below guidance for adding Texas A&M University-Kingsville if needed or making any necessary corrections.

1. **Access the 2024-25 FAFSA Form:**  Log in to the FAFSA account and locate the processed 2024-25 FAFSA form.
2. **Navigate to "Actions":**  Once a student has accessed the processed FAFSA form for the 2024-25 academic year, look for the "Actions" tab or option.
3. **Select the Corrective Action:**  Under the "Actions" section, you'll find different options. Choose the appropriate action based on what the student will need to do. Students can add or remove schools, make corrections to your information, or view your FAFSA submission summary.
4. **Review and Make Corrections:**  If the student needs to correct any information on the FAFSA, select the appropriate option to make corrections. Review each section carefully and update any incorrect information with accurate details.
5. **Submit Corrections:**  After confirming the accuracy of your corrections, electronically sign and submit the updated FAFSA form. Signatures are crucial for the processing of corrections.
6. **Monitor Correction Status:**  After the student has submitted the corrections, they’ll be able to track their status. Check periodically to see if the corrected FAFSA has been processed and accepted.

The Department of Education (ED) posted in an electronic announcement on Tuesday with updates as follows:

• The ability for students to make updates and corrections to their FAFSA forms will be available in the first half of April.  Prior to the  implementation, the Department  of Education (DE) will  provide detailed information to partners, students, and families on how to correct the most common FAFSA form errors including no signatures and selecting ‘yes’ to applying for unsubsidized loans only (Question 8).

• The  Department of Education  will start reprocessing applications impacted by a previously identified issue shortly after student corrections are made available.  It  recently identified a vendor issue that was incorrectly calculating the Student Aid Index for records of dependent students with assets. This issue affected less than 10 percent of the 4 million records that have already been processed and  have  been resolved since the issue was identified. As these records are reprocessed, they will be identified as a system-generated  transaction in the transaction source field (ISIR field 16). On March 22, 2024, President Biden signed H.R. 2882, the “Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024” into law which level of funds? the  Federal Pell Grant program with a Pell Grant maximum of $7,395. No additional reprocessing will be required to adjust Pell Grant awards.

What this means for you:

• Students who need to make corrections/updates to their FAFSAs are encouraged to continuously monitor their application for the ability to make the corrections and updates. The Department of Education is anticipating  this option/function will be available within the first weeks of April, after the initial FAFSA has been processed .
• The Department of Education will also provide guidance on how to correct the most common FAFSA form errors including no signatures and selecting ‘yes’ to applying for unsubsidized loans only (Question 8), in the coming weeks.

The Department of Education (ED) posted in an electronic announcement on Tuesday evening that they have resolved two issues that will enable applicants who have a contributor (parent/spouse) who does not have a Social Security Number (SSN) to access and complete the FAFSA Form; however, while addressing these glitches, ED also uncovered an additional pair of issues that still need to be resolved. The good news is that most students who have a contributor (parent/spouse) with no SSN should be able to complete the 2024-25 FAFSA Form. Attached is the Electronic Announcement and below are the two resolved and two unresolved errors. Please encourage students who you interact with and are in this situation to complete the FAFSA Form.ED Announces Resolution for FAFSA Contributors Without SSNs Coming in ‘First Half’ of March

Resolved Issues:

1. First Resolved Error: The first technical fix concerns an error message on the “student information” page stating that a parent without an SSN who was attempting to start a 24-25 FAFSA for a student was “unauthorized to act on behalf of the student since they already have a 24-25 FAFSA form.”
2. Second Resolved Error: The second error concerned contributors being unable to contribute to the FAFSA due to their lack of an SSN. These contributors may now log in to FAFSA.gov to complete their section of the FAFSA after they are invited to participate in the form by the student.

Unresolved Issues:

1. All users without an SSN have to manually enter their financial information. There is currently no estimated timeline for addressing this issue, but once resolved, ED will attempt to retrieve federal tax information through the direct data exchange with the IRS and will reprocess these FAFSAs when necessary.
2. The second issue comes from applicants inviting contributors without an SSN to participate in their form. The error occurs in two situations: when the personally identifiable information (PII)  entered the invitation does not match the information attached to the contributor’s StudentAid.gov account, or when the person sending the invitation sends multiple invitations, often with different variations of PII. For now, FSA is advising applicants receiving this error message to wait for the expected fix before inviting any contributors without an SSN to the FAFSA.

What this means for you:

• Students who were previously having issues submitting the FAFSA with a parent without an SSN may now be able to submit their electronic information. It's important to keep in mind that each student is unique and may still encounter an issue.

The Department of Education (ED) on Tuesday announced that it would resolve a 2024-25 FAFSA issue that is preventing submission when a contributor  (parent)  does not have a Social Security Number (SSN), in the “first half” of March.

ED urged applicants to wait for the permanent fix, if possible. ED instructs those applicants to check  the FAFSA form  in the first half of March, at which time students and their contributors  should be able to  provide their consent and signature.

What this means for you:

• Texas A&M University-Kingsville does not have a FAFSA deadline and students will receive all the financial aid they are eligible for. If a contributor is unable to create a FSA UserID and password, we encourage students to attempt to submit the form electronically once the issue is resolved in March. There is still time to submit your FAFSA application. Continue to monitor your student email and this webpage for the latest developments.

The Department of Education announced steps to help colleges process student records faster and more efficiently. This includes:

• Significantly reducing verification requirements. This year, the Department will be significantly reducing verification requirements, while continuing key measures focused on avoiding identity fraud. In past years, the Department selected a much larger portion of FAFSA applicants for colleges to verify. More recently, the Department has gradually reduced that verification rate to more effectively target verification efforts while alleviating burdens for millions of students and thousands of schools. With the implementation of the direct data exchange with the IRS, made possible by this year’s overhauled FAFSA form, the Department is receiving the vast majority of income data directly from the IRS, which would not need to be further verified. This year’s significant reduction in verifications will reduce the burden for colleges and students while continuing to protect against fraud.
• Suspending new routine program reviews. As part of its oversight duties, the Department routinely conducts program reviews to confirm a college meets the Department’s requirements for institutional eligibility, financial responsibility, and administrative capability. The Department will suspend all new program reviews through June 2024, except for those related to the most serious issues like suspected fraud or a severe breach of fiduciary duty. Institutions with an ongoing program review can also request extensions for responses to program reviews, reports, or requests for additional documentation. This flexibility will reduce the time that colleges’ financial aid offices need to devote to producing documentation and responding to Department inquiries during the time they need to focus on quickly getting aid award offers to students.
• Providing additional flexibility on recertification. Institutions are currently required to routinely recertify eligibility for the Department’s federal student aid programs no later than 90 days before their Program Participation Agreement (PPA) expires. The Department will waive that 90-day requirement for schools whose PPA expires in March, June, or September 2024, meaning these schools have until their expiration day to submit a recertification application. Providing this flexibility will give time back to institutions at a critical moment and enable them to focus their resources on getting students the aid they need.

What this means for you:

• Once Texas A&M-Kingsville receives the necessary FAFSA data from DOE, a student may be selected for verification. We have partnered with Pro-Ed to help streamline this process. Students are encouraged to continue to monitor their student accounts for messaging regarding additional documents that may need to be submitted.

The Department of Education will begin transmitting batches of FAFSA information—known as the Institutional Student Information Record or ISIR—to institutions in the first half of March. Students will also be able to make corrections to their forms starting during the first half of March.

What this means for you:

• Once Texas A&M-Kingsville receives the necessary FAFSA data from DOE, we will assess your financial aid eligibility and create a personalized financial aid offer as soon as possible.
• These ISIRs will contain the updated Student Aid Index (SAI) tables, ensuring that your financial aid offer is accurately calculated and reflects the most current available information. 

Post-Processing Experience for Students

• Students will receive an email informing them that their FAFSA form has been fully processed and their FAFSA information will be sent to the schools they listed on their form.
• Students who applied using the online FAFSA form will receive an email that they can access their FAFSA Submission Summary by logging in to StudentAid.gov using their account username and password.
• The Department will send an email reminder to previous FAFSA applicants who have not yet submitted a 2024-25 FAFSA form.
• Students will be able to make corrections to their FAFSA once they eligibility has been calculated and ISIR generated. Students may view their eligibility calculation by logging back into their StudentAid.gov account.

Students who have a parent or spouse (contributor) without a valid social security number are currently unable to complete the 2024-25 FAFSA. DOE is working on an enhancement that will verify the individual’s identity so they can electronically sign the FAFSA form. We are actively monitoring updates and developments from DOE and will make an announcement as soon as this enhancement has been fully implemented. 

The 2024–2025 FAFSA went live. The form has been launched online periodically. FSA will still be treating the period as a soft launch to allow the opportunity to monitor and respond to any potential issues.

• You may experience delays that impact accessing the FAFSA during December and January.
• Although you may be able to complete the form, FSA will not transmit your FAFSA to any institution until late January.
• Upon submission, you will receive a confirmation email noting your submission date, estimated Student Aid Index (SAI), and estimated Federal Pell Grant eligibility.

Students and families will be able to submit the 2024–2025 FAFSA form online by December 31. FSA will be treating the period leading up to and following December 31 as a soft launch period to allow an opportunity to monitor and respond to any potential issues.

• You may experience delays that impact accessing the FAFSA during December and January.
• Although you may be able to complete the form, FSA will not transmit your FAFSA to any institution until late January.
• Upon submission, you will receive a confirmation email noting your submission date, estimated Student Aid Index (SAI), and estimated Federal Pell Grant eligibility.