Hoosier State Today

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.) joined a bipartisan group of senators in sending a letter to the U.S. Department of Education (ED) requesting a delay in the institutional reporting deadline for the new Gainful Employment (GE) and Financial Value Transparency (FVT) regulations to July 2025.

The request arises as ED faces significant challenges in rolling out the 2024-2025 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), creating additional demands on higher education institutions. Ensuring that schools can meet the GE and FVT rules’ reporting requirements will help prospective students and their families receive accurate information about program costs and risks.

“On March 29, 2024, the Department announced a two-month extension of the reporting deadline to October 1, 2024,” the senators wrote. “Although this delay was welcomed by stakeholders in the higher education community, it still does not provide institutions – particularly financial aid offices – with sufficient time to comply with an entirely new reporting framework while also working to process financial aid that is critical to ensuring students have the resources they need to enroll in the fall semester.”

“While schools are making every effort to adhere to the reporting deadline while also processing financial aid for the fall semester, they have been left with very minimal time. Institutions take any reporting obligation seriously, and work to submit accurate data to the Department when a reporting requirement is in effect, especially a new one that will be used to inform publicly-available consumer information. While the new GE/FVT requirements are no exception, it is going to be very difficult, if not impossible, for schools to submit high-quality data by the October 1 deadline given the tight timeline and additional issues financial aid offices are facing. What’s more, schools can only report accurately if their student information systems (SIS) providers, who have also been impacted by reacting to the 2024-25 FAFSA issues, are prepared with the functionality needed to generate required reports. Some SIS providers are not yet ready for GE/FVT reporting or won’t be ready until very close to the October 1 deadline, adding another hurdle for institutions to meet their reporting obligation,” continued the senators.

In addition to Senator Young, Senators Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.), Shelly Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) also signed the letter.

Full text of the letter is available here and below:

Dear Secretary Cardona:

In light of continued issues with the rollout of the 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), we write to you to request that the Department of Education delay the institutional reporting deadline for the new Gainful Employment and Financial Value Transparency regulations until July 2025.

On March 29, 2024, the Department announced a two-month extension of this deadline to October 1, 2024. Although this delay was welcomed by stakeholders in higher education, it still does not provide institutions—particularly financial aid offices—with sufficient time to comply with an entirely new reporting framework while also working on processing critical financial aid necessary for students enrolling in fall semesters.

Since extending this deadline, significant challenges have persisted within FAFSA's rollout affecting both students and postsecondary institutions. Typically, financial aid administrators receive Institutional Student Information Records shortly after FAFSA becomes available each October; however, this year ISIRs were delayed until March's first half with final records cleared only by March's end—the same day ED announced its two-month GE/FVT delay extension.

Further complicating matters were formula errors identified upon receiving ISIRs necessitating reprocessing millions between April-June delaying aid offers further still exacerbated by manual corrections launching only early July versus concurrent availability alongside initial FAFSA release prior years alongside absent batch correction functionalities previously expected early August now unavailable entire cycle requiring labor-intensive manual submissions individual student corrections instead thus compounding workloads already compressed timelines impacting fall semester enrollment clarity surrounding outstanding unresolved issues disbursing aiding assembling packages ensuring continuity remains paramount focus rather than diverting efforts implementing frameworks compliance priorities

Institutions devote considerable resources processing aiding assisting preparations whilst concurrently fulfilling newly imposed frameworks proving increasingly impractical completing high-quality submissions constrained significantly limiting capacity fully realizing obligations under current timelines amidst operational burdens posed unforeseen delays throughout cycle compounding adverse impacts resulting directly stemming prolonged inefficiencies backlogs errors fundamentally undermining procedural integrity demanding resolution prioritizing facilitating educational access equity inclusivity overarching goals imperative supporting underserved populations reliant navigating bureaucratic landscapes overcoming systemic barriers equitable opportunities attainable fostering inclusive environments conducive academic success broader societal advancements promoting collective welfare harmonious progress shared aspirations embody foundational principles underpinning educational missions guiding commitments unwavering dedication excellence steadfast pursuit transformative visions shaping brighter futures successive generations contributing meaningful legacies enduring positive change sustainable growth resilient thriving communities interconnected global society dynamic evolving landscape adapting continuously responding emergent challenges embracing innovative solutions collaborative partnerships driving impactful outcomes fostering vibrant equitable future shared prosperity mutual respect dignity humanity

We respectfully request extending GE/FVT deadlines alleviating immediate pressures focusing vital priorities aiding facilitating successful transitions ultimately benefiting entire educational ecosystem collectively advancing noble cause equitable accessible quality education fostering holistic development empowering individuals uplifting communities contributing broader societal welfare harmonious progress shared aspirations embody foundational principles underpinning missions guiding commitments unwavering dedication excellence steadfast pursuit transformative visions shaping brighter futures successive generations contributing meaningful legacies enduring positive change sustainable growth resilient thriving interconnected global society dynamic evolving landscape adapting continuously responding emergent challenges embracing innovative solutions collaborative partnerships driving impactful outcomes fostering vibrant equitable future shared prosperity mutual respect dignity humanity