The Daily Agenda: Federal financial aid application gets a makeover

The process to apply for federal financial aid is changing … UA students may need this money more than ever … Water rate battle not over.

University of Arizona President Robert C. Robbins told faculty earlier this week the school had just over three months’ operating expenses on hand and would have to make “draconian cuts” to deal with the situation.

Staffing and budget cuts are on the horizon, but student financial aid is also on the chopping block, with Robbins saying the university spends more than $300 million on financial aid and merit scholarships. He called the dollar amount unsustainable and said the school needed to consider making the decision to decrease the amount of aid given to students.

News about the UA’s financial crisis comes on the heels of widespread changes to the federal financial aid application process for the first time in 40 years, with the goal of helping to streamline the application process, make it more accessible and expand student eligibility.

With more than 100 questions on the original application, anyone who has filled out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid knows it’s quite the task. And while officials behind the changes say the process will be easier, that remains to be seen.

If the UA is cutting down on the amount of aid it provides to students, it’s more important than ever for students to be able to navigate the application process to receive federal assistance.

Kyra spoke with UA peer financial aid advisor Daijon Christie about the changes and what students should look out for. 

New timeline

The first big change is the application availability date, which moved from October 1 to sometime in December. The fall 2023 deadline for first-year, transfer, readmits and new students will be sometime in the Spring of 2024, and the application deadline for current students will be late spring to early summer.

Expanding access, removing barriers

The new application has removed some roadblocks to students receiving aid, as it no longer requires students to register for the Selective Service and the question about drug-related convictions has been removed.

That’s not the only question that’s no longer being asked. The new FAFSA has fewer than half the amount of questions than in previous years, dropping from 108 to 48, with Christie saying that most students won’t even need to answer all 48.

Federal Pell Grants also have expanded access this year, with incarcerated students now eligible to apply and the likelihood of receiving funds increasing. Students who didn’t qualify under the previous system used to evaluate their financial resources could also receive funding through the new application, based on family size, poverty guidelines and income.

But, Christie warned, the expanded eligibility will reduce the amount of money available to each student.

“Pretty much anyone who is getting student aid will likely see a drop,” Christie said.

Language will no longer be as much of a barrier for applicants, with the new form available in 11 languages. In previous years, it was only available in English and Spanish.

New name, same index

The system used to evaluate a student’s financial resources to contribute to their college education each year was changed from Expected Family Contribution to Student Aid Index, as EFC was widely misinterpreted as a determination of the total amount an applicant would be expected to pay. The new name clarifies that it’s only an eligibility index for student aid and not necessarily the amount they’ll pay.

While the name is different, the formula used for determining a student’s need is the same, Christie said. The formula to determine need is the cost of attendance minus the Student Aid Index minus any other financial assistance.

No more sibling discount

In the past, the Expected Family Contribution was the same whether a family had one student or multiple students, meaning that families with multiple children received more aid. So if tuition is $30,000 and the EFC is $8,000, a family with one child would receive $22,000 in aid for the student. A family with two students would receive $26,000 in aid for each student. But that’s no longer the case.

“Right now, what’s happening is this discount does not exist,” Christie said. “If (a student has) siblings in college, they're likely to have their aid drop.”

Students and contributors MUST consent

In the past, FAFSA applicants had the option to select the IRS direct retrieval tool, which gave FAFSA permission to get their financial information from the IRS, or they could enter their information manually.

Now, tax information must be imported directly from the IRS, so if a student wants to receive aid, they and whoever else is a financial contributor have to consent for FAFSA to access the information. If the applicant or contributor fails to consent, the student won’t receive any aid.

Establishing independence 

Christie said he hears from a lot of students who think they should be considered independent on the FAFSA because their parents don’t claim them on taxes or help them financially. That doesn’t necessarily mean they qualify to apply independently though, he said.

“The main criteria are: Are you 24 or older, are you in grad school, or have you been deemed homeless or at risk of homelessness?” Christie said. “Included in that (are) orphan or foster kids. Those are all considered independent students.”

But FAFSA independence and tax independence are different, he said, and in the past, students who applied as independent were withheld aid until FAFSA could verify that status.

“What's going to happen now is the FAFSA will give students provisional independence, which means they're going to give students a certain amount of time to verify their independence, but they're not gonna withhold aid, so the university will still treat them as independents,” Christie said.

This will make the process much easier for foster, homeless and unaccompanied youth, as well as students who can’t provide parental information. 

Contributor changes

For students with divorced parents, the parent who provides more financially for the student will be considered the contributor. In the past, the contributor was the parent who the student lived with the most.

Contributors can also be a student’s spouse, step-parent or adopted parent, but not a grandparent, foster parent, legal guardian or other type of relative, even if they’ve helped raise the student.

We’ll have to wait until the application window opens in December to see if the new application is actually easier.

But since we don’t know how much the UA will be cutting the financial aid it has available, even if this version of the FAFSA isn't easier, it may be worth the effort.

We want to get the word out to as many current and prospective UA students and families about the upcoming FAFSA changes. Help us spread the word.

Let’s talk money: A judge threw out the City of Tucson’s differential water rates for customers in unincorporated Pima County in September, but Pima County and the City of Tucson aren’t done fighting over water rates. Pima County Administrator Jan Lesher wrote in a memo to the Board of Supervisors that the county is asking a judge to order the city to reimburse the collected differential water rates for customers and pay the county’s legal fees.

Election reflection: The Arizona Luminaria and the Arizona Daily Star break down Tuesday’s election results, which saw voters support public school funding across Southern Arizona (and for the first time in more than 20 years in Tucson Unified School District) and a not-at-all surprising incumbent sweep of the mayor and council. Still too close to call is Prop 413, which would give raises to Tucson’s mayor and council. 

We had a blast covering the 2023 election. We’re already looking forward to 2024. Help make our coverage the best it can be!

Staffing problems: The Sahuarita Unified School District had to postpone bus routes for the second time in two years, KGUN’s Blake Phillips reports. Last year, the district didn’t have enough bus drivers to staff the routes. This time around, they have enough staff, but too many of them are on leave at the same time. The district is training more drivers and the bus routes should get back to normal next month.

Bad company: Tucson-area state Sen. Justine Wadsack went on a show where the hosts deal in anti-semitic conspiracy theories, the Arizona Mirror’s Jerod MacDonald-Evoy reports. During the show, Wadsack and Flagstaff Sen. Wendy Rogers continued to push the false claim that the 2020 and 2022 elections were “stolen” from Republicans. Wadsack also said immigrants were “replacing us,” a version of the racist “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory, and she defended her effort earlier this year to ban drag performances and let parents ban any book they decide isn’t fit for a school library.

Back to the drawing board: Tucson Electric Power’s plan to cut greenhouse emissions is under review, Arizona Public Media’s Katya Mendoza reports. The company is looking to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2034 and hit net-zero emissions by 2050. An advocacy group has raised concerns about the environmental impact of the plan and says it also poses a risk to taxpayers due to the 40-year lifespan of a natural gas unit. 

Agents needed: Tohono O’odham Nation Chairman Verlon Jose wants more support from federal border agencies as thousands of migrants cross the border and enter the Nation’s lands, the Star’s Emily Bregel reports. Most of the migrants are families looking to ask for asylum. They are showing up at the San Miguel gate, a small border crossing where tribal members can enter their ancestral lands on both sides of the border. It appears to be a safer route than the area near Sasabe, a small town to the east where violence erupted among criminal groups recently. 

53,187: Total enrollment at the University of Arizona this fall.