Colin Williams/Staff Writer

As the semester is coming to an end sooner rather than later, it’s about that time for students to start filling out their FAFSA for their financial aid. However, due to some changes that were being made, there has been a setback in the process. Nationwide, colleges and universities are having to adapt, as FAFSA’s deadline has been pushed back further and further. The deadline is now June 1.

Derek Bohnsack, the Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, elaborates on what has happened in the past month with FASFA.

“They delayed the FASFA application, normally it opens on October 1, that did not happen until New Year’s Eve this year,” Bohnsack said. “They did not have the best communication during that process. They were telling financial professionals like myself it was going to open up…but they were giving ranges, they weren’t giving specifics.”

According to PBS.org,  the Department of Education was working on a more streamlined process for the application, making it easier for students and parents to fill out the document.

In addition, Bohnsack also explained parts of the process of how a FAFSA is filed and subsequently why what was getting delayed. 

“A student gets a SAR report (Student Aid Report). The school gets an ISIR Report…and they changed that layout,” Bohnsack said. “They didn’t notify the platforms that they were changing it so that delayed it again… And then, on top of that, they just recently started to release the ISIRS…they realized that they didn’t account for inflation…they pulled it all back, and they don’t have a deadline for us.”

Something like this can affect admissions, recruiting, and even work-study programs. Supervisor for the Library work-study program, Bathsheba Love spoke about the importance of student workers. 

“I’ve been here for over 20 years, I have been the work-study coordinator for the library,” Love said. “I’ve seen a lot of students go through the program, and they have succeeded not only in school, but as well as in their careers…it gives them that extra work ethic that they can put on their resume as well.