Financial Aid Team Helps Shield Stan State Students from Worst of FAFSA Simplified Rollout Pro...

Oct. 1 traditionally marks the beginning of the availability of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as the FAFSA. For the second consecutive year, because of continued issues with the "new and simplified" questionnaire, the rollout will be delayed.

When the problems hit with last year's debut of the new form, the majority of Stanislaus State students, 86 percent of whom depend on financial aid, were inconvenienced more than panicked about enrolling for the 2024-25 academic year.

That's because Director of Financial Aid and Scholarships Belinda Garcia and her 12 colleagues never lost sight of their mission: supporting Stan State students.

Keeping in constant communication through emails and texts, they let students know of every delay and the most up-to-date information available about completing the revised form. Garcia said she and her team did not want students to be burdened by the changes.

"I would say our Financial Aid Office has done a large lift, that before this process, I did not know an office could make," said Associate Vice President for Strategic Enrollment Maura Gatch, who oversees enrollment services, financial aid and outreach and recruitment. "They have been phenomenal."

The new form, required by the 2020 passage of a FAFSA Simplified Act, forced the Department of Education (DOE) to change how it assesses student financial need. The questions were "skip logic," as Garcia calls them, meaning students only had to answer those questions that applied to their situation, rather than all 120 or so on the form.

It proved more challenging than expected for the DOE, with the form not available until Dec. 31 rather than the usual Oct. 1. Furthermore, it took time to assess answers on the new form.

"With all the programming they had to do, delays came about," Garcia said. "That's when FAFSA got delayed to December. We had to adjust at the last minute, let students know what was happening and get them ready for December. We did a lot of communicating and a lot of outreach to let them know as much as we knew from the Department of Education. We communicated with them constantly, with our prospective and continuing students."

"I would say our financial aid office has done a large lift, that before this process, I did not know an office could make. They have been phenomenal."

- Maura Gatch, Associate Vice President for Strategic Enrollment

Reassuring students with information was the key, Garcia said, noting she and her team were learning as they were going.

Despite working in financial aid for 23 years - beginning as a work study student - Garcia said the new FAFSA Simplification form is the biggest change she has seen.

"It was like learning financial aid all over again," she said.

Garcia worked with the California State University, Office of the Chancellor, led by Assistant Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management Services April Grommo and her staff, and fellow financial aid directors from the 23 member universities to understand and resolve the problems that arose with the new application. The CSU awards some form of financial aid to 80 percent of its more than 450,000 students.

Garcia said keeping Stan State students informed with news from the DOE helped alleviate many concerns. In addition to regular emails, there were Financial Aid Fridays, which were casual information sessions, and Associated Students, Inc., partnered with financial aid to hold student workshops.

Once the DOE began accepting FAFSA on Dec. 31, there were more hurdles. Some students were not able to access the new application.

Garcia's team was reassuring and calm, letting students know they'd eventually be able to submit their applications. Some universities dipped into other sources of funding to support students whose notification was delayed by the new process. Along with the CSU, though, Stan State extended its enrollment deadlines.

Students normally are notified by December if there are issues with their applications. This year they found out in March. Approval of funding typically begins in February. It came in April for new students and May for continuing students. Some of them were discouraged.

"It did have an impact on our enrollment," Gatch said. "As phenomenal as our Financial Aid Office was, as much as we did everything we could, there are students who chose to go to community college instead of coming here, because they don't have to fill out the FAFSA there."

Still, she said, the enrollment drop wasn't as serious as she feared it might be.

"In February I was looking at the FAFSA completion tracker, and we were less than 50 percent of where we were the year before in terms of FAFSA completions," Gatch said.

While some students chose to wait a year or attend community college, Gatch reports an almost 4 percent increase in new undergraduate enrollment. The fall headcount is 9,297, with fewer than 8,000 considered full-time students.

First-year students, who'd never applied for FAFSA before, were less likely to be anxious about the delays and changes, Garcia said. Transfer and continuing students were more worried, but they were able to register for classes without verification of financial aid. Garcia assured them it would come. It eventually did.

On a positive note, Gatch said, FAFSA Simplified made more students eligible for Pell Grants.

Other positive changes emerged at Stan State.

Enrollment services, advising, admissions and financial aid set up a one-stop service operation and Gatch said the groups will continue to meet in one location at the start of every semester for the convenience of students.

As for FAFSA Simplified, it remains a work in progress, but Garcia is satisfied with how her department handled the rocky launch. She knows the problems are not all solved, but she has a plan to handle them after withstanding the first year.

"We're getting used to the changes," Garcia said. "We don't see our students stressed, and once we got the money out to them and they got their books and everything, we felt a sense of relief.

"It was crazy, chaotic in our office, but we knew we had to get through it, and our student population did not feel it. That was good."

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