Catch up on our reporting from around the country on changes to federal financial aid. And, meet the newest member of our Local Reporting Network.

FAFSA changes looming

As we’ve written before, the Education Department is poised to release a new version of the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). The department announced last week that the form will be released “by Dec. 31.”

Our local reporters are covering the rollout of the new form, and its implications for students and families. Families’ ability to complete the FAFSA and access federal aid is increasingly important as costs are rising.

The December release — the FAFSA is typically available in October — could pose problems. It means that the form may come out while students are on winter break, and college financial aid offices are closed.

“A ‘Better FAFSA’ is one that actually gives students and their families time to complete it,” Sara Miller, executive director of Green Halo Scholars, said on Twitter after the timing was announced. Green Halo Scholars is a nonprofit that helps first-generation and low-income students navigate the college application process.

On top of the delayed process, now financial aid offices aren’t expected to have offers to students until mid-February at the earliest, according to the National College Attainment Network.

Tiffany Gusbeth, vice president of student success services at the American Indian College Fund, told Jason Gonzales, our reporter at Chalkbeat Colorado, that she worries students will feel overwhelmed by the financial aid process. And, counselors will have limited time to get them the information they need.

“Motivation and momentum is really important,” Gusbeth said, “But once they’re about ready to graduate, they’re going to slip off the radar.”

Despite the challenges, the updated FAFSA is meant to be easier to complete. It has fewer questions now, and pulls some information directly from the IRS.

Mayra Mendoza, a business administration major at El Paso Community College, told Daniel Perez, our reporter at El Paso Matters, that she’s looking forward to using the new form.

“I like that it will be quicker and easier,” said Mendoza, who is juggling parenting and a part-time job in addition to attending college.

++ Lisa Philip at our partner WBEZ spoke about FAFSA and other changes to the college admissions process this year on an episode of WBEZ’s “Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons.”

++ Have concerns or questions about the new FAFSA? Email us: [email protected].

Deepening higher ed reporting in Indianapolis

We are excited to announce a new member of our Local Reporting Network this week. Claire Rafford will cover Indianapolis colleges and universities for our new partner, Mirror Indy.

Mirror Indy is a new nonprofit newsroom — going live on Tuesday — that’s committed to closing news gaps in Indiana’s largest city. Claire started on the beat this week.

She was previously a business reporter at The Indianapolis Star and graduated from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. in 2021.

Claire said she’s most interested in the “shocks to its system” that higher ed has experienced over the last few years — the pause and restart of student loans, the Supreme Court’s ban on race-conscious admissions, and the aftereffects of the Covid- 19 pandemic.

And, her experience covering business has helped Claire see how colleges and university are at the center of the ways Indianapolis is changing and expanding.

“There is truly nothing more important than local news from reporters who deeply know and care about a community,” she says.

Support our work

Donations of up to $1,000 will be tripled now through the end of the year, thanks to support from the Loud Hound Foundation, our board of directors, and longtime donors.

Your support will help us double our local reporting partnerships next year, deepen coverage of higher ed in prisons, and train student journalists from historically Black colleges.

++ We’re accepting pitches now through Jan. 15 for one-time ambitious stories that local newsrooms want to tell with our support. If we accept a pitch, we’ll give the newsroom $10,000 and guide the reporter through the process. Learn more and apply.

Elsewhere on Open Campus

From Mississippi: Last week, Delta State University faculty senate members called on Ellen Green, the dean of the liberal arts college, to immediately resign following a no-confidence vote.

The vote comes after reporting by Molly Minta, the higher ed reporter at our partner Mississippi Today. Molly had reported on Green’s role in hiring a business consultant to be the interim co-chair of the music department despite his lack of experience and prior domestic abuse allegations.

From California: Most undocumented students in California are no longer eligible for DACA, which creates a whole host of complications for them and for colleges, writes Adam Echelman at our partner CalMatters.

From the HBCU Student Journalism Network: Tatyanna McCray, one of our HBCU reporting fellows, writes this week about efforts at historically Black colleges to improve on-campus housing stock, after years of issues and bed shortages.

From Pittsburgh: Some faculty members from Chatham University are considering unionizing, reports Emma Folts at our partner PublicSource. The effort comes as the university grapples with a budget deficit.

From Tampa Bay: Department leaders at 10 of Florida’s public universities are objecting to a plan that would remove sociology from the list of core classes students must take in college, reports Divya Kumar at our partner The Tampa Bay Times.

The Board of Governors is taking a final vote on the proposal in January.

Keep in touch

Interested in reaching readers who care about higher education in communities across the country? Get in touch or request our media kit.

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