Our Chicago: The FAFSA Rollout & UIC Aspire
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Families with college age students may remember the difficulties last year with the rollout of the new FAFSA, the Free Application For Federal Student Aid.
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There were technical delays and glitches with a form that was meant to simplify the process.
Students and their families had to make a decision about which college to attend, sometimes without a complete picture of what kind of aid they would receive.
Kiely Fletcher is the Vice Provost for Enrollment Management at the University of Illinois Chicago. She says the students they educate, first generation and low income students, were hit hardest by last year's problems.
"In fact, institutions with high Pell percentage which is the low income barometer in higher education, saw an enrollment decline of over 10 percent nationwide," said Fletcher. "Because they could not make an informed decision so they opted out."
This year, the University of Illinois Chicago is involved in beta testing of the FAFSA, which should be widely available on December 1.
"There's four rounds of beta testing. Beta test one, which happened in early October, was primarily with high schools, Chicago Public Schools, were part of beta test one," said Fletcher.
"We were an early site for students to file a FAFSA. About 12,000 FAFSAs were filed throughout the country for beta tests two and three. UIC is accountable for over 2,000 of those applications alone."
"One of the major changes that we've seen is the Department [Of Education] is really listening this time. They've been actively communicating, actively involved. They came to campus. On site at the end of October, to work with us directly, on some of these issues and some of the defects that we were seeing to resolve them real time so that we know this new FAFSA, while it might not be perfect, will not be the disaster that it was for 24-25," she said.
Another aid to help incoming first year and transfer students is a new program called UIC Aspire.
"The Aspire program is not based on a calculated number which comes from the FAFSA or the Alternative Application for Illinois Financial Aid, it is based on your family income. So now, while an application is required, so we still need the FAFSA form or the Illinois Application depending on your status for which application, families that make less than $75,000 of income will qualify for the Aspire program which is full tuition and mandatory fees for up to four years for a first year student and two years for a transfer student."
There are some deadlines that students need to meet.
"You have to file an application for admission. That's pretty important that you file an application for admission. And our application deadline is February 3rd. You also need to file one of those applications, either the federal application, the FAFSA form or the Illinois application if you're eligible for that form. Which is the Alternative Application for Illinois Financial Aid. Both of those need to be filed by March 15th."
