Washington Watch: Student Aid


Washington Watch: GAO details FAFSA missteps, mismanagement

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), the watchdog for federal agencies, last week released two new reports on the troubled rollout of the 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and coordination and leadership shortcomings…


Washington Watch: Surveying SAVE

Adding to a stream of judicial decisions that directly affect community colleges and their students, U.S. Supreme Court last week declined to lift an injunction against implementing the Biden administration’s Saving on a Valuable Education…


Advocacy quick hits: Good news/bad news on FAFSA

The U.S. Education Department (ED) this week released a new electronic announcement (EA) on remaining issues with implementing the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, as well as new information on plans…


Washington Watch: Pell estimates better than expected

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on Tuesday released its latest cost projections for the Pell Grant program, and the news was surprisingly better than anticipated. Most observers had predicted that the Pell program would exhaust…




Advocacy quick hits: ED updates FAFSA timeline

The U.S. Education Department (ED) this week issued an electronic announcement (EA) updating the timeline for the processing of Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) data and sending Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs) –…


Advocacy quick hits: ED sends out first batch of ISIRs

The U.S. Education Department (ED) this week issued an electronic announcement (EA) containing several updates on the 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). First, ED announced a long-awaited fix allowing students with parents…


Washington Watch: House HEA bill adds to floor docket

The passage last week by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce of the College Cost Reduction Act (CCRA, H.R. 6951) means that three important pieces of legislation affecting community colleges and their students…