Dept. of Ed. applies fixes to new FAFSA form

The U.S. Department of Education introduced fixes to the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid form to speed up college financial aid awards and help colleges process the information in an easier way.

Families have run into problems with the new form, including technical issues, incorrect aid estimates and hours-long waits on the phone to speak to a human.

The agency is taking the following steps:

Significantly reducing verification requirements: The agency will select fewer FAFSA applicants to go through what usually is a very lengthy verification process to avoid identity fraud. Now that the department receives most income data directly from the IRS, there’s less of a need to verify a student’s information.
Suspending new routine program reviews through June: These reviews usually are conducted to confirm a college meets the Department of Education's requirements for eligibility to receive federal funds. The temporary suspension allows colleges more time to focus on putting together financial aid packages for students.
Deploying federal personnel: The Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid Office is deploying teams of federal experts to under-resourced schools.
$50 million in federal funding: The agency is allocating the moneyto nonprofit groups specializing in financial aid support and services.

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These steps do not address is the hours-long wait times just to speak to a human.

In the meantime, several nonprofit groups throughout the area can help answer FAFSA questions.