LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Millions of students rely on a form called the FAFSA to access federal financial aid, but the FAFSA is in turmoil.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
And now the public is getting an inside look into why. Federal investigators testified before lawmakers yesterday about what went wrong during the last cycle of FAFSA applications and what needs to be fixed for the next one.
FADEL: Cory Turner listened to their testimony, and he joins us now. Good morning, Cory.
CORY TURNER, BYLINE: Good morning, Leila.
FADEL: So you've been reporting on federal investigations into the problems with FAFSA. What did investigators say they found when they testified yesterday?
TURNER: Yeah. House lawmakers heard from two investigators with the nonpartisan U.S. Government Accountability Office. And their report detailed 55 defects - essentially technological glitches - in the form that caused a lot of confusion for students and families. I'm just going to tick few - a few of them. For a while, students born in the year 2000 were mysteriously blocked from completing the form.
FADEL: OK.
TURNER: Students whose parent or spouse does not have a Social Security number were often forced by an error to go through a manual identity verification process that involves emailing documents directly to the department, which was really burdensome. Also, students' or parents' signatures sometimes just disappear when they return to the form. This is a problem GAO says still exists. I think it's also worth highlighting, Leila, GAO told lawmakers the Education Department wasn't forthcoming during this investigation either. Here's the GAO's Melissa Emrey-Arras.
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MELISSA EMREY-ARRAS: It was extremely challenging. It took us five months to receive documents that we had requested in March.
FADEL: Five months to receive documents - this all sounds like a mess. How did it impact students and their families?
TURNER: I mean, at the very least, it was incredibly frustrating. GAO found, during the early FAFSA rollout, nearly three-quarters of all phone calls, Leila, that came into the department's call center weren't even answered because the center was so understaffed.
FADEL: Wow.
TURNER: But it also goes way beyond frustrating. This overhaul was meant to make the FAFSA more accessible. But according to GAO, about 9% fewer high school seniors and other first-time applicants submitted a FAFSA, with the largest declines among lower-income students. Here's Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, a Florida Democrat.
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FREDERICA WILSON: I'm most upset that the delays and ongoing setbacks with FAFSA have meant that some of our want-to-be-somebody students have just decided not to go to college at all. They have just given up.
TURNER: This kind of concern from lawmakers in the hearing yesterday was bipartisan.
FADEL: You know, and as we're talking, it's September, almost October, which is the traditional start of the FAFSA cycle. But for the second year in a row, the Education Department has delayed the form's launch. So, Cory, are students and families going to face the same problems?
TURNER: Oh, that is the question. Well, the Ed Department released a report on Monday, trying to reassure folks that they have learned from these mistakes. The ed secretary has said he's put all hands on deck, including hiring 700 more call center workers. They're also not releasing the form in October, Leila, to give them more time to do beta testing, which is why the department says they're going to try to release it by December. But I will say this last rollout was such a mess. I don't know what to tell students and families, except maybe the old, be prepared for the worst but hope for the best.
FADEL: Well, there you go. NPR education correspondent Cory Turner. Thank you, Cory.
TURNER: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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