How to Simplify the Fafsa? Student-Aid Officials’ Group Weighs In

The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators is out with recommendations for how to simplify the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as the Fafsa. Making the application less cumbersome is a popular cause, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the College Board, and the chairman of the U.S. Senate’s education committee, Lamar Alexander, among others.

In a report released on Thursday, the student-aid administrators’ group recommended that the Fafsa be made into a three-tiered process that would, in effect, require low-income students to answer fewer questions than wealthier ones. Among other recommendations, the group said that:

• The Fafsa should use prior-prior year income data to determine a student’s aid eligibility.
• The amount of data retrieved automatically from the Internal Revenue Service for an individual’s application should be expanded.