Administrative Burden Report
As a follow-up to studies it conducted in 2010, 2015, and 2020, NASFAA again surveyed financial aid professionals at its member institutions to better understand how ongoing regulatory changes are affecting college financial aid offices. The 2025 NASFAA Administrative Burden Survey (published July 2025) revealed the following key findings:
- A strong majority (91%) of respondents reported feeling the time and resources their office devotes to processing each aid application has “greatly increased” or “somewhat increased” in the past five years.
- Fifty-two percent of respondents believed their financial aid office faced moderate (38%) or severe (14%) resource shortages over the past five years that affected their level of service during peak processing periods. Of those who felt they faced a shortage, 68% felt it was permanent.
- Twenty-eight percent of respondents reported that resource constraints have had a “significant impact” on their office’s ability to meet its obligations and capacity to support students. This is up from 17% in our 2020 report—a 64% increase.
- The student services activities most often reported as “greatly affected” by resource constraints included financial literacy (35%), outreach efforts (33%), maintaining the financial aid office website (27%), and focusing on target populations (27%).
In this report, NASFAA outlines considerations to address the causes associated with resource constraints and presents Congress and ED with options for reasonable steps to reduce administrative burden.
- Ensure new and amended regulations do not impose undue burden on financial aid offices.
- Thoroughly test the FAFSA every year before launch and include a comprehensive testing plan in all new technological efforts.
- Explore creating a federal emergency aid program.
- Double the Maximum Pell Grant.
If enacted, the recommendations would allow financial aid administrators to have more time to spend counseling students and to be in compliance with their administrative capability mandate.
This report is an update to the work completed in NASFAA's
- 2020 NASFAA Administrative Burden Survey
- 2015 Administrative Burden Survey Report
- Findings from the 2010 NASFAA Administrative Burden Survey
Publication Date: 7/8/2025