<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0PxCxj_0wFVWbWU00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0PxCxj_0wFVWbWU00" width="1703" height="1216" ><figcaption>Shehna Zaman</figcaption></figure>Eighty-six percent of undergraduate students at Valparaiso University file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) each year. After the delays that FAFSA faced last year, students, families and financial aid staff are coping with the changes in order to ensure as smooth a process as possible for this year and beyond.“This past year, since the FAFSA was completely overhauled, everything was delayed and the Department of Education would give us a date for something and then a week before said, ‘It's going to be another month,’ or ‘It's going to be another two months.’ It was delay, after delay, after delay after delay. It was tough staying on top of everything,” said Director of Financial Aid, Karen Klimczyk. “So far, they're still on track to open [FAFSA] Dec. 1 to everybody, but we haven't heard anything different yet.”As the university implements changes to address the decrease in enrollment, delays in the process have become a significant contributing factor.“Fewer students completed the FAFSA because they decided, based on our tuition prior to any aid, that they couldn't afford it. I think families, not knowing what the final awards would look like soon enough, opted out of going to college altogether. We heard about 10-11% of our admitted students indicated that they weren't going to go anywhere this fall. Other students opting for less expensive schools,” said Vice President of Enrollment and Marketing, Jill Schur.Unfortunately, the issues from the delays didn’t end after aid packages were released.“We still have a handful of students that are here who we're trying to help [regarding] FAFSA issues. We have a couple of students [whose award offers we can’t even complete] because of FAFSA issues,” Klimczyk said.As the financial aid team at Valpo moves through the problems of last year, there are some new initiatives in place to help the process in case the same issues arise in the future.“For new students, new freshmen particularly, or transfer students we have a Student Aid Index (SAI) calculator. When you're filling out the FAFSA, it tells you what your student aid index is and approximately how much aid you will receive to help you figure out what you can afford with that kind of support. We'll have that available prior to the FAFSA later this fall,” Schur said.For current students, consistency is key.“I really just encourage [current students] to complete the FAFSA as soon as it becomes available. If there's any changes in their family situation, they just need to reach out to their financial aid counselor to discuss what their situation is and we can work with them,” Klimczyk said.Going forward, the Valpo team has hope, even if the same delays happen again.“We'll have the right tools to help families know what that aid package looks like. We want to be able to go out and say that this is an estimate of exactly what your real package will look like when the federal government follows up and does its part, and we have the confidence that we were accurate last year with those early awards. We can feel confident that we'll be able to commit to those,” Schur said. “It's really families understanding how confident we are in our commitment. We are confident that this year should help them feel more competent in making their decisions. We've got a fantastic financial aid team here that is ready to respond and support our students.”To contact the financial aid team with any questions or concerns, you can visit them at the Duesenberg Welcome Center, call at 219-464-5015 or email finaid@valpo.edu.</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

New financial aid resources after federal delays

Eighty-six percent of undergraduate students at Valparaiso University file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) each year. After the delays that FAFSA faced last year, students, families and financial aid staff are coping with the changes in order to ensure as smooth a process as possible for this year and beyond.