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The Education Department revealed on Monday its plans to introduce a new earnings indicator at the conclusion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) procedure. This addition aims to alert students about colleges and universities with subpar financial outcomes.
Traditionally, when filling out the FAFSA, students list the colleges they are considering. However, they have had to visit external platforms like the College Scoreboard to access detailed information about these institutions. This new feature seeks to streamline that process by consolidating crucial financial data directly within the FAFSA application.
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(The Hill) – The Education Department announced on Monday it is adding an earnings indicator at the end of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) process to warn students about institutions with poor financial outcomes.
During the FAFSA process, students indicate which prospective colleges they are interested in attending but need to go to separate sites such as the College Scoreboard to get more data on the institutions.
With the change, FAFSA will show key financial data of the institutions a student has selected, and a “low earnings” disclosure will appear if a particular college’s average earnings are below the average high school graduate.
“More than half of all Americans now say a college degree is not worth the price, and total outstanding student loan debt is approaching $1.7 trillion. Families deserve a clearer picture of how postsecondary education connects to real-world earnings, and this new indicator will provide that transparency,” said Secretary of Education Linda McMahon.
“Not only will this new FAFSA feature make public earnings data more accessible, but it will empower prospective students to make data-driven decisions before they are saddled with debt,” she added.
The Education Department said more than 2 percent of undergraduate students attend an institution where the average graduate makes less than someone with a high school diploma, totaling billions of dollars in Federal Student Aid to these colleges each year.
Students will be able to get more detailed information of an institution’s financial status from College Scorecard.
The announcement comes after the Trump administration had the earliest launch for the FAFSA form in history following some rocky years after the Biden administration looked to simplify the process.
Some have predicted this will be a record year for applications, but polls have shown Americans are increasingly skeptical of the worth of a college degree.
