- Department of Education publishes eligible colleges for the Postsecondary Success Recognition Program
- Updates on beta testing of the 2025-26 FAFSA
Department of Education publishes eligible colleges for the Postsecondary Success Recognition Program
This week, the Department of Education (ED) released a list of 200 institutions that are eligible for the new Postsecondary Success Recognition Program. Part of the Biden Administration’s broad “Raise the Bar” initiative, the new program seeks to identify and uplift colleges and universities that promote social mobility. The initiative aims to counter a higher education narrative centered around exclusivity as a measure of institutional value.
After soliciting feedback through a Request for Information (RFI), the Department used publicly available data to identify colleges and universities that have met key equity performance measures and will be invited to participate in the next phase of the selection process. These measures include enrolling high shares of low-income students and students of color relative to the population of the state, delivering robust graduation or transfer outcomes for those students, and providing a strong return on investment, measured by recouping program costs and earning a premium over high school graduates in the state.
One hundred predominately associate’s or certificate granting institutions were identified, including 90 public community and technical colleges in 22 states and American Samoa. These institutions are invited to fill out an application to be considered for one of the inaugural awards. Applications are due on November 1, 2024.
Updates on beta testing of the 2025-26 FAFSA
Earlier this month, the Department of Education (ED) opened the first of four rounds of “Beta” testing for the 2025-26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), with the form becoming available for a limited set of volunteer students and community-based organizations. Each beta test will look at student and contributor experiences filling out and submitting the form, transmission of Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs) to states and institutions, and student- and institution-initiated corrections.
As of October 8, more than 680 students have successfully submitted FAFSAs, with ISIRs sent to 565 unique institutions as part of Beta 1. As the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) shared on their Beta Central Updates page, 60 of those submissions were initially rejected, with many facing ongoing challenges with missing a parent or contributor signature. While students are able to fix rejections through workarounds, FSA has stated that they hope to decrease these rejections through upcoming Beta tests.
Beta 2 is set to begin on October 15 and will feature a more diverse student pool, including currently-enrolled students and returning students. This is the first test that will include colleges and universities and where institutions will begin downloading and testing ISIRs within their financial aid systems.
AACC is carefully monitoring the rollout of the 2025-26 FAFSA. Please contact AACC’s Office of Government Relations (OGR) to discuss these issues further.