Letter to Congressman Bergman from MSFAA Legislative Committee (dated 8/20/2024)

Dear Representative Bergman,

I am writing to you on behalf of the Michigan Student Financial Aid Association (MSFAA), which represents 93 colleges and universities across the state. MSFAA encompasses 1072 members dedicated to supporting students and their families as they navigate the complex college financial aid process.

We are reaching out to urgently request your assistance in pushing back the deadline for institutions to submit reporting for the U.S. Department of Education's new Gainful Employment (GE) and Financial Value Transparency (FVT) regulations. Specifically, we ask that you require the Department to delay these institutional reporting requirements until July 2025.

This request stems from the unprecedented issues associated with the 2024-2025 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA Simplification Act, intended to streamline the financial aid application process, has unfortunately resulted in significant complications. The rollout has been fraught with challenges, causing devastating impacts on students, their families, and the institutions committed to their success.

Adding to these challenges, the Department of Education did not finalize the reporting requirements or publish a complete GE/FVT user guide until last month. This timing has left institutions with only 40 working days to compile and submit an extraordinary amount of data that they have never been required to report before. The Department estimates it will take institutions approximately 400 hours 1 to prepare for this reporting, a burden that is untenable given the current circumstances.

Financial aid administrators are already struggling to meet the same October 1 reporting deadline for the Fiscal Operations Report for 2023–24 and Application to Participate for 2025–26 (FISAP), diverting precious resources from other critical priorities. These include ensuring a smooth enrollment process for the upcoming academic year and assisting students who are facing disruptions due to the FAFSA issues.

Extending the GE/FVT reporting deadline to July 2025 will allow financial aid offices to focus their efforts on supporting students through the ongoing FAFSA crisis, helping them stay track for the 2024-2025 academic year. This extension is crucial for maintaining the stability and effectiveness of our financial aid systems during this period of unprecedented challenge.

We urge you to work swiftly to pass legislation that mandates the Department of Education to delay the GE/FVT reporting requirements until July 2025. Your support in this matter is vital for the well-being of students, families, and educational institutions across our region and the country. Thank you for your continued support of higher education!

Sincerely,

Kemmoree Duncombe - MSFAA President kemmoree.duncombe@kirtland.edu

Jenny LaPratt - Legislative Committee Chair jelaprat@umich.edu

Katie Malone  - Legislative Committee Co-Chair katie.malone@kirtland.edu

Response from Congressman Jack Bergman's office (dated 9/9/2024)

Kemmoree, Jenny, & Katie –

Thanks for reaching out to Congressman Bergman and sending your letter of August 20, 2024, on behalf of the Michigan Student Financial Aid Association. I know the Education Department’s new GE and FVT requirements are issues that the Congressman is already familiar with, as several of the colleges and universities in the First District have reached out with many of the same concerns expressed in your letter. I spoke with the Education & Workforce Committee and relayed the issues and concerns related to the Education Department’s laborious GE and FVT reporting requirements, compounded by the delayed rollout of the new FAFSA. The Committee is very aware of such issues and is actively exploring potential solutions to address them. I’ll continue to keep an eye out and an ear open for any developments on this end.

I also wanted to flag a bill that may be of interest – HR 8932. The bill would require the FAFSA to be made available each year by October 1, moving the current deadline up from January 1. Congressman Bergman is a cosponsor, and the Committee recently reported the bill favorably out of mark-up, so hopefully we’ll see it come to the House floor for a vote soon.

Unfortunately, we know many colleges and universities are having a tough time – through no fault of their own – juggling the issues resulting from the delayed FAFSA rollout and the new GE and FVT requirements. While this legislation is by no means a direct fix to these problems, the hope is that it would help alleviate some of these hardships should a similar situation arise in the future.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you’d like to discuss further. Our office is here to help in whatever way we can.

Best,

Colin Gwillim

Legislative Assistant

Representative Jack Bergman (MI-01)

566 Cannon HOB, Washington, D.C. 20515

Office: 202-225-4735