Financial aid officers are facing significantly greater pressure to support students than they did five years ago, largely due to shrinking resources, according to a new report from NASFAA.
The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators released its latest findings from the “Administrative Burden Survey,” delivered once every five years.
Over 90% of financial aid officers reported feeling that time and resources devoted to processing each financial aid applicant have “greatly” or “somewhat” increased in the past five years. More than a quarter of respondents indicated that resource constraints have had a “significant impact” on their office’s ability to meet its obligations—up 17% from 2020.
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Financial literacy, outreach efforts and focusing on target populations were among the affected student services.
“Financial aid professionals are the access and affordability stewards of our institutions,” said NASFAA President & CEO Melanie Storey. “When these offices are stretched thin, students pay the price through delays, confusion, and missed opportunities.
Financial aid officers endured a swath of disruptions in the past five years, including the COVID pandemic, a buggy rollout of financial aid packages caused by the FAFSA Simplification Act and significant layoffs at Federal Student Aid. Additionally, staffers have also adapted to changes in compliance measures introduced by the Department of Education’s Financial Value Transparency and Saving on a Valuable Education initiatives. The latter is currently under court injunction.
As a result, 48% of financial aid officers said the need for more compliance staff was among the two most important additional resources their offices needed. The other was automation, which was requested by 55% of respondents.
More than half of the responding financial aid officers also said their office budgets were “insufficient” to meet their long-term needs.
NASFAA outlined several recommendations for Congress and the Department of Education to improve services for underresourced students. Among them were:
- Annually test FAFSA and new technological updates to avoid flawed rollouts.
- Create a federal emergency aid program: More than half of responding financial aid officers said emergency aid programs rose significantly at their institution—up 17% from the 2020 report. A federal emergency funding source can help mitigate gaps between institutions.
- Double the Maximum Pell Grant: The majority of survey respondents reported that their student financial aid budget fell short of students’ needs.
“Investing in financial aid staffing and infrastructure isn’t optional—it’s essential to ensuring access and success in higher education,” Storey said.
More than 980 individuals responded to at least one question in the survey. The majority of responses came from institutions with full-time enrollment of anywhere between 1,000 and 4,999. Private nonprofits were the most represented sector.
