Original Research - Highlighted Projects
*NEW* Staffing Changes at the U.S. Department of Education in 2025
This report examines staffing changes at the U.S. Department of Education during 2025 using federal workforce data from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. It also draws on NASFAA member survey findings to illustrate how these shifts may influence financial aid administration, institutional operations, and student service.
Implications of Negative SAI
NASFAA recently explored how institutions have responded to the introduction of a negative SAI, which allows the lowest possible SAI to reach -1,500. This project included a mixed-methods study drawing on a targeted survey and focus groups with financial aid administrators. The findings detailed in this new report offer timely insights for policymakers considering the impacts of Negative SAI.
Exploring How Institutions Build Their Cost of Attendance
NASFAA recently concluded a project exploring how institutions build their cost of attendance (COA), which included a mixed-methods study drawing on a targeted survey, focus groups, and one-on-one interviews with institutional and state-level experts. The project aimed to document COA development practices, identify common challenges, and elevate the perspectives of financial aid professionals. The findings detailed in this new report offer timely insights for policymakers considering federal regulation of COA and practical considerations for institutions and professional associations to improve COA development practices.
2025 National Student Aid Profile
The National Student Aid Profile provides detailed information about the major programs authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, including descriptions of the federal student aid programs; recent trends in federal program appropriations; income levels of students and families who receive aid; and a description of the federal student aid application process.
2025 Administrative Burden Survey 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. In July 2025, NASFAA released the results of its 2025 Administrative Burden Survey, which found that a strong majority of respondents, 91%, reported feeling that the time and resources their office devotes to processing each aid application has "greatly increased" or "somewhat increased" in the past five years.
Perspectives on Implications of Statutory Changes to Data-Sharing Rules
As described in this report, considerable confusion remains in several areas where legislative changes to FTI and non-FTI FAFSA data sharing have occurred. In many places where previous confusion has been resolved by ED guidance, overly strict interpretations of the statute have hindered—or in some cases eliminated—the ability of institutional staff outside of the financial aid office to administer the programs or conduct research that has historically relied on FAFSA data.
Research Responses to FAFSA Reform and FTI Data
NASFAA commissioned a report, authored by the SSTAR Lab, for financial aid researchers interested in using student or parent income data within the context of new prohibitions on using FTI data for research. The report provides background information, examples of alternative measures, and descriptions of lessons learned for researchers.
Consumer Testing the New FAFSA: Findings from student and parent focus groups
NASFAA retained ASA Research, LLC (ASA) to collect feedback on the 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) process. As a result of this testing NASFAA offers six considerations in our full report for the Department of Education to take into account when developing future years' FAFSAs.
The Numbers Speak for Themselves: Using FAFSA Data to Secure Today’s Students’ Basic Needs
Higher Learning Advocates surveyed and interviewed NASFAA members in spring of 2022 to inform its brief on using FAFSA data to improve student access to federal means tested benefits.
The College Completion Crisis Fuels the Student Debt Crisis
This issue brief, commissioned by NASFAA and authored by the HEA Group, explores the extent to which college completion impacts student loan repayment. Specifically, author Michael Itzkowitz looks at the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard data four years after students enter repayment to see if there are differences between those who completed college and those who did not.
Evaluating Student and Institutional Experiences with HEERF
NASFAA, in collaboration with NASPA—Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education and HCM Strategists, produced a report evaluating student and institutional experiences with the three rounds of Higher Education Emergency Relief Funding (HEERF). This research builds upon work conducted in 2021 on the CARES Act HEERF program, but it adds the student perspective and specifically examines differences among students and practitioners at Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) relative to non-MSIs.
Protecting Borrowers & Advancing Equity
Through this grant funded work NASFAA has developed thoughtful, systemic, targeted policy solutions to treat the underlying flaws in the current student loan repayment and servicing systems that lead borrowers into financial hardship while underscoring the benefits of a strong federal loan program. Read the full report to learn more about the work NASFAA and coalition members, as noted in each individual section, put forth for recommendations on student loan servicing, student loan repayment, and student loan default.
Toward a More Equitable Future for Postsecondary Access
NASFAA and the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) joined together in this grant-funded project to attempt to understand and dismantle impediments to racial equity in the college admission and financial aid processes. The paper recommends a series of actions for admission and financial aid practitioners, educational institutions, and state and federal agencies and policymakers. It also urges further, deeper study and examination of issues that create barriers to entry to postsecondary education for traditional-aged and adult students of color, particularly Black students. Read the full report, along with key questions and recommendations the report raises.
For older NASFAA research highlights, place visit our Research Archive page.