"Until [the Office of Federal Student Aid] makes progress in these important areas, [the FAFSA Processing System] is at risk of not functioning as intended in future releases, leading to students having trouble in obtaining timely aid. Further, the FPS contract is at risk of overexpenditure and potentially wasting taxpayer dollars. These risks are compounded by reductions in staff that likely impact the agency's ability to carry out its mission to manage and oversee student financial assistance programs."
"We believe that GAO's analysis teaches the wrong lessons and, as an unintended consequence, reinforces the exact practices that led to the FAFSA's initial challenges, wrote Aaron Lemon-Strauss, executive director of the FAFSA program."
"Lemon-Strauss said GAO is applying a "more traditional, and somewhat outdated, project-based model that does not support modern technology development for scaled systems like the FAFSA.""
The Education Department is on track to release the 2026-27 Free Application for Federal Student Aid by Oct. 1. The Government Accountability Office found that many recommendations from its September 2024 report remain unimplemented. The GAO identified insufficient contractor oversight, a lack of a plan for testing future FAFSAs, and staff overseeing the application lacking key experience and training. The GAO warned that the FAFSA Processing System is at risk of not functioning as intended, risking timely aid for students and potential overexpenditure on the FPS contract. FSA officials disputed parts of the GAO analysis and described organizational changes, noting that FSA had no internal engineering expertise until last year.
Read at Inside Higher Ed | Higher Education News, Events and Jobs
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