The FAFSA Simplification Act means that there will be changes related to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form, starting with the 2024-25 award year. These changes impact higher education professionals, students, and their families. What are the best ways to prepare?

Wendy Bhagat, Director of Product Marketing and Delivery Group at the Department of Education joined us to share resources to help navigate the FAFSA Simplification Act and help families and students feel supported with the 2024-25 FAFSA. Read on to get four of the Department of Education's go-to resources to help prepare for FAFSA changes – if you want to dig in some more, jump to the bottom of the page to view the webinar recording. 

By communicating proactively with parents about anticipated FAFSA changes, institutions can know what to expect to get ahead of questions and reduce confusion. Use these tools and resources as a guide to help advise your families. 

Psst — for institutions that use CampusESP, we’re already sending FAFSA information directly to parents through CampusESP Network Content. Learn more about how we help here.

CampusESP customers — If you'd like help setting up even more info, just reach out to us at support@campusesp.com for help!

1. FSA Partner Emails

Federal Student Aid sends out monthly emails to inform partners about important updates, webinars, and other resources that become available. Sign up here!

2. Financial Aid Toolkit Website

FSA designed a website specifically for individuals who help students, parents, and borrowers through the financial aid process. The Financial Aid Toolkit provides outreach tools such as fact sheets and recorded webinars to help guide others through the FAFSA changes. 

The Department of Education specifically highlighted the following webinar recordings:

• FAFSA Changes: An Overview

• Special Student Populations and Circumstances for the 2024-25 FAFSA Form

• 2024-25 FAFSA FAFSA Form Preview Demonstration

Within the Financial Aid Toolkit, you can also find information on the Better FAFSA Better Future campaign and communication assets from FSA that are free to use – no need to ask! Information will continue to be updated with the latest information and resources. Pro tip: bookmark the page for easy access. Learn more here! 

3. FSA Training Center

The FSA Training Center provides access to on-demand training resources, tools, and videos relevant to the implementation of the FAFSA Simplification Act and FUTURE Act. Resources include upcoming webinars, learning tracks, presentation slides, Q&A transcripts, and more. Learn more here!

4. Knowledge Center

The Knowledge Center on FSA Partner Connect provides official policy information and guidance. Within the Knowledge Center, you can find the FAFSA Simplification Landing Page, which provides further updates, information, guidance, and training related to the FAFSA Simplification Act. You’ll also find the FAFSA Preview Presentation, which includes screenshots of the new form and an overview of major changes. Learn more here! 

As you can tell, the Department of Education has created a ton of resources to help you help families through upcoming FAFSA changes – take advantage of them!

Looking to dive deeper? Watch the full webinar below.

Want to scale up your family engagement strategy?