Katy Weisenburger on Major Delays in Student Financial Aid

Frederica Freyberg:
In education news, the UW Board of Regents this week approved a tuition hike that averages nearly $400 more per year. For many college-bound students, part of planning for costs includes filling out the free application for federal student aid or FAFSA. It’s a necessary step to see what their financial aid package looks like and whether or where they can enroll, but this year, the FAFSA process is a mess for students and colleges. A new streamlined form from the U.S. Department of Education came out months late, was difficult or impossible to access, and then was filled with glitches so bad, financial aid offices at colleges can’t even move aid awards along. In Wisconsin, more than 126,000 students filled out the FAFSA last year and were awarded financial aid. For a look inside the mess happening this year, we turn to Katie Weisenburger, assistant director of federal awards of the UW-Madison Office of Student Financial Aid. Thanks very much for being here.

Katie Weisenburger:
Thank you for having me.

Frederica Freyberg:
Quite the setup. I can’t even believe you have time to be here, because I understand that people like yourselves are working nights and weekends just trying to deal with this. What is happening in your office?

Katie Weisenburger:
Absolutely. Things are changing every day. So we are often on phone calls first thing in the morning, last thing at night, sending messages to each other, making decisions based on the current information. This week, for example, we have been on webinars every day with federal student aid, trying to understand what’s happening and what we can and cannot do.

Frederica Freyberg:
So how delayed are financial aid awards this year?

Katie Weisenburger:
They’re extremely delayed. For an example, at UW-Madison, we typically have aid offers out for our new students in January, and it’s April and we’re — we are getting closer but we’re not quite there yet.

Frederica Freyberg:
How many UW-Madison applicants are affected?

Katie Weisenburger:
All of our UW-Madison applicants are affected, or I should clarify, anybody who is applying for financial aid.

Frederica Freyberg:
Are there concerns that students will end up not attending because of this?

Katie Weisenburger:
Certainly, there are concerns. Less at UW-Madison but certainly across the state and across the country.

Frederica Freyberg:
What are some examples of the problems that people are experiencing with this FAFSA form?

Katie Weisenburger:
There have been a lot of technical issues. At the beginning, there were some students and families who couldn’t complete the application at all. Most of those technical issues have been resolved, but the biggest issue right now is that people just don’t know what they’re going to receive for financial aid. So it’s really hard to make those decisions about where they’re going to go to school, what they’re going to study without having all of the information. Typically, we are receiving FAFSA records in October and we just started to receive them and we have just been told that at least 20% may not be accurate. So now we’re going to have to wait for the Department of Education to reprocess those FAFSA records so we can have accurate information.

Frederica Freyberg:
So has your office, then, been inundated with concerned students and families?

Katie Weisenburger:
Yes. Yes, we have. And unfortunately, there’s just not a lot we can say because we don’t necessarily know what is happening and when it’s going to happen. Families have been absolutely patient and understanding, but it’s very stressful, particularly for those families that have — this is maybe their first time applying for financial aid, seniors in high school trying to make that big decision about where they’re going to attend college.

Frederica Freyberg:
So what is your guidance, then, to families and students in the midst of this?

Katie Weisenburger:
Our guidance is please be patient. Please be kind. But mostly, check your emails, particularly the student’s email. So parents often check their emails, but we want the student to check their emails because if there’s something that we need, we will email that student directly. So that’s the number one thing, is to pay attention to those emails and those communications.

Frederica Freyberg:
So how is the admissions office dealing with all of this? Because that’s the upstream problem. Right?

Katie Weisenburger:
Sure, yes, yeah. Our admissions team has been very supportive of our financial aid office, and the biggest thing that they have done is they have moved the decision date from May 1st to May 15th, and a lot of other schools have done that across Wisconsin and across the country. That’s the biggest impact that we’ve done for our students here.

Frederica Freyberg:
I did notice online that you have in-person sessions this month to help students with FAFSA.

Katie Weisenburger:
Yes.

Frederica Freyberg:
One of them happened today.

Katie Weisenburger:
Yeah.

Frederica Freyberg:
In your tenure as a financial aid officer, how extraordinary is this year?

Katie Weisenburger:
This is the craziest year I’ve ever seen in my 23 years in financial aid in higher education. This is a generational change and I think in the long run, a year from now, this is going to be wonderful because more people will have access to the federal Pell grant. It’s an easier application, just but right now the process of implementing it has been a nightmare.

Frederica Freyberg:
To put it frankly.

Katie Weisenburger:
To put it frankly.

Frederica Freyberg:
All right. Well, Katie Weisenburger, thanks very much.

Katie Weisenburger:
Thank you so much.