No batch corrections for this FAFSA cycle

Colleges and universities planning to submit batch corrections for students’ federal financial aid applications won’t be able to do so for this cycle, the Education Department announced Tuesday.

The announcement comes a few days before colleges had hoped to submit the corrections and is yet another blow to institutions grappling with the challenges wrought by the department’s botched rollout of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

In a typical year, institutions use batch corrections to submit changes to thousands of forms at once. Without batch processing, college financial aid administrators have to manually submit corrections to the department for individual students—a more time-intensive process. 

The department previously said that batch corrections would be available in the first half of August, but now the agency is reversing course, opting to prioritize the development of the FAFSA for the 2025–26 academic year. 

“We know that this is not the news that you, our partners, were expecting and adds to the challenges your organizations have already been facing,” the department said in its online update. “We know this decision creates additional burdens for institutions that are already experiencing a heavy workload and increased demands during this extraordinary FAFSA processing cycle.” 

The department is planning to provide free technical assistance to help colleges and universities submit corrections. More than 2,800 institutions have submitted individual corrections in the last month.

Beth Maglione, interim president of National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, said in a statement that the announcement was “beyond frustrating.”

“While we understand that resources are finite and ensuring next year’s FAFSA is fully functional is critical, the federal government is still obligated to ensure this year’s students are able to access critical funds,” Maglione said. “The department’s poor planning has led to a stunning failure: some college students might not have financial aid dollars in their hands in time to start classes in the next few weeks. And for schools, the impact of today’s announcement means more than a few extra hours of work. It’s the difference between pushing a button versus making thousands of keystrokes in terms of administrative burden.”