CHARLESTON Ƶ State education officials are making progress on a backlog of studentsƵ FAFSA applications.
At an interim legislative session on Sunday, Higher Education Chancellor Sarah Armstrong Tucker praised the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability for its response to the issues that arose when the FAFSA faced repeated hurdles in the 2024-2025 application year.
State Sen. Mike Oliviero, R-Monongalia, asked Tucker if the stateƵs response in May was ƵsufficientƵ to the demand. Tucker replied that the response was Ƶincredible.Ƶ
ƵWhat you all did to try to make our students whole,Ƶ Tucker said. ƵI appreciated it so much, and our students appreciated it so much. Not many other states Ƶ really any other states Ƶ went to the length that you all went to make sure our students were whole.Ƶ
However, some FAFSA applications still have yet to be processed.
Recap of the FAFSA flubs
While the current version of the FAFSA featured changes meant to simplify the process according to the Ƶ like fewer questions, availability in multiple languages and the ability to list up to 20 colleges on the form Ƶ the process to disburse it to families grew complex and caused significant delays for applicants.
First, applications opened on Dec. 31, 2023, which is months later than the traditional Oct. 1 date. Then the applications were quickly pulled due to technical issues that
In response, Gov. Jim Justice declared a state of emergency in higher education, suspending the FAFSA requirement for in-state financial aid programs.
State lawmakers, during a special session in May, allocated $83 million for higher education that students would have otherwise missed out on due to issues processing the FAFSA.
This led to 43,540 West Virginia students, according to Tucker, being awarded higher education grants as well as the . Tucker said only a little more than 40% of those students usually use those awards.
ƵStill over 6,000 students behindƵ
Tucker reported that the stateƵs actions helped support students with financial needs for higher education. but she added, Ƶwe are still over 6,000 students behind in filling out the FAFSA for this year.Ƶ
Some challenges facing administrators are that there are still paper applications for the FAFSA being processed since she said some students were encouraged to fill out a paper copy.
The U.S. Department of Education , rather than mailing paper forms.
While the U.S. Department of Education committed to processing paper forms by the end of June, Tucker told lawmakers in her Sunday presentation, ƵThose paper FAFSƵ are sitting there. They are still being processed ... Hopefully by the end of [August], that task will be finished...We have no sense of how many students filled out a paper FAFSA.Ƶ
However, these delays could have lead to individual students delaying enrollment until the fall 2025 semester, as families typically weigh their financial aid options when choosing a college, but Tucker said there is no way to track these applications.
Corrections to the forms Ƶ which are traditionally submitted by institutions in batches Ƶ also have to be processed and sent individually, which is taking an Ƶenormous amount of time.Ƶ
WhatƵs next
The U.S. Department of Education has announced that Ƶ starting Oct. 1 Ƶ with a launch comprised of a limited set of students and institutions, and that it will make the application available to all students on or before Dec. 1.
Tucker worried about the timing, as the FAFSA is usually ready to be completed by students on Oct. 1. She said a lack of oversight of the vendor that created the new online FAFSA form was partially to blame for this yearƵs issues.
With an administration change coming to Washington, D.C. following the election of a new president in November, Tucker expressed concern over future oversight.
ƵWhat happens to the FAFSA? Who is minding the shop? I have a lot of concerns about that ... [And] IƵm not getting great answers [to] those questions,Ƶ she said.
Delegate Joe Statler, R- Monongalia, asked, ƵWhatƵs the worst-case scenario for the universities and students in West Virginia?Ƶ
Ƶ...That it rolls out the same way it rolled out this year,Ƶ Tucker replied.
, students who submitted a paper FAFSA form and provided a valid email address will receive an email telling them that they can access their FAFSA Submission Summary on . Students who did not provide a valid email address will receive the results of their form’s processing via a paper FAFSA Submission Summary sent by mail within seven to 10 days after processing.
Anyone, regardless of application method, is encouraged to create an account username and password (FSA ID) to view the real-time status of their application on
