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Simplify the application process for financial aid
"Will streamline the financial aid process by eliminating the current federal financial aid application and enabling families to apply simply by checking a box on their tax form, authorizing their tax information to be used, and eliminating the need for a separate application."
Sources: Obama education plan
Subjects: Education, Government Efficiency
Obama administration unveils work on FAFSA simplification
Updated: Wednesday, June 24th, 2009 | By Angie Drobnic Holan
IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman and Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced a plan to simplify the online form students fill out to apply for financial aid, known as the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).
"The debate about how to simplify FAFSA I think had been going on for over 20 years," Duncan said. "So this change is long, long overdue."
Next year, applicants should see a 20 percent reduction in the number of questions and a 50 percent cut in the number of Web pages to navigate, Duncan said.
"In the coming months, we will further modernize the online application by creating an easy process for students to apply by using data that the IRS already has," Duncan said.
The department also is seeking legislative changes so it can eliminate some questions from both the online form and the paper format.
We rate this promise In the Works.
Sources:
U.S. Department of Education, Obama Administration Announces Streamlined College Aid Application, June 24, 2009
U.S. Department of Education, Making College More Affordable By Simplifying The Student Financial Aid Application , June 24, 2009
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