Financial aid director talks about changes to FAFSA form
MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin is preparing to welcome students back to school this Thursday.
Although move-in day is pertinent, there is something that stands out a little more.
The changes in the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, which went into effect on December 31, 2023, have some students frustrated and questioning the process.
We spoke to Jana Cox, the Director of Financial Aid and Scholarships at the University of Tennessee at Martin. She says that the Department of Education has made the largest change in 40 years to the FAFSA form.
“Students are still going to be able to log on with their FSA ID, but now, at this time, the student is going to have to give consent for the Department of Education to reach out to the IRS to grab that data,” Cox said.
This is to receive access to their income information. This will include students needing consent from a parent as well.
This form will simply ask if the student and parent give consent. They will click “yes” if they do and then the system will automatically handle the rest for them.
“So they’re not going to be able to see their income information when they complete that FAFSA because it’s all done behind the scenes,” Cox said.
In times past, the parent had their own FSA ID and then their child had theirs, but now it’s all together.
“Now the student can log on and they’re going to send an insight to their parent and then that parent is going to be able to go on and complete their portion of the FAF,” Cox said.
Cox stated that at this time, this is a soft launch for the Department of Education and there are times that the system will do maintenance at times that they do not know. So do not be alarmed if that happens.
Cox said that they will not be able to see anything FAFSA-related right now.
“They’re not actually going to be sending any of the information from the FAFSA to the schools until the end of January. So we are not going to be able to see anything from the FAFSA that the student has completed until the end of January,” Cox said.
Cox says at UT Martin, they already have a plan to help students who have issues.
“In February we’re offering several different dates for students where they can actually come in and we’re going to have time set aside where we can actually assist students and parents in completing that FAFSA,” Cox said.
Cox wanted to send an encouraging word to students.
“Continue to keep trying because we know right now that it’s really frustrating for students and parents and for aid administrators. But we just really aren’t sure when that FAFSA is going to be available,” Cox said.
The new FAFSA form is available Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
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