Hopkinsville Community College has slated five workshops in February to help new and returning students file Free Application for Federal Student Aid forms, better known as FAFSA. The sessions could prove especially beneficial this year because of changes in the process.
The main difference for students and their families is in the way financial data is collected, said HCC Financial Aid Director Carla Dossett. Rather than accessing their own income information and transferring it to a FAFSA form, families will now give the U.S. Department of Education consent to pull that information directly from the IRS.
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The new reporting system was created through the FAFSA Simplification Act. And while the goal might have been to make the process easier, change itself is sometimes a hurdle.
Delays expected
In a related development, colleges can expect delayed reporting of students’ FAFSA information — and students will have to wait longer to know if college is affordable.
“On Tuesday (Jan. 31), the U.S. Department of Education announced yet another delay in the already-turbulent FAFSA timeline: The department says it won’t be sending students’ FAFSA data to schools until the first half of March. Previously, it had said it would start sending that data in late January,” NPR reported.
HCC workshops
The HCC workshops will be in the Emerging Technologies Building, Room 143, on these dates:
- Thursday, Feb. 8 — 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Monday, Feb. 12 — 5:30 to 7 p.m.
- Thursday, Feb. 29 — 10 a.m. to noon, and 2 to 4 p.m.
- Tuesday, March 5 — 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
The workshops are free. Although they are offered to help HCC students, those planning to attend other colleges won’t be turned away, said Dossett.
Parents may attend the workshops with students. The sessions are designed for people to drop in when it is convenient.
Most students, regardless of their family’s financial resources, should complete the FAFSA. Dossett said that even those who think their parents earn too much for them to qualify for federal assistance should complete it because there are other forms of help, including some scholarships from nonprofits, that require a completed FAFSA.
“Workshop attendees should bring their 2022 tax information as well as the (FSA) Federal Student Aid IDs for the student, parents and/or spouse,” an HCC press release says.
Attendees should create FSA IDs prior to the workshop using this online form. Additional information is available by calling HCC’s Financial Aid Department at 270-707-3831.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
