FSA Details Shutdown's ‘Minimal’ Impact on Operations
By Hugh T. Ferguson, NASFAA Managing Editor
The Department of Education (ED) has now experienced a lapse in funding due to annual appropriations expiring on September 30. On Tuesday, ED detailed contingency plans for a government shutdown, and on Wednesday, Federal Student Aid (FSA) issued an electronic announcement with guidance for their operations.
According to FSA, the shutdown will have a “minimal impact” on students, borrowers, schools, lenders, and guaranty agencies' participation in Title IV programs, and explained that the majority of FSA’s processors, contact centers, and websites remain operational.
During the shutdown, communications on the Knowledge Center website will be on hold until the government is reopened. However, student-facing websites like Studentaid.gov will be updated, though not on a routine basis.
Most customer service contact centers will remain open, as well as core operations of all federal loan servicers. During this time student loan borrowers should continue to repay their loans, though according to FSA, the processing of refunds and discharges could be delayed. It is NASFAA’s understanding that IDR and PSLF application processing is paused during the shutdown.
As a reminder, an ongoing lawsuit has detailed a significant backlog of pending income-driven repayment (IDR) applications and the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Buyback program. It’s important to note that this debt cancellation is only tax-free through the end of 2025 due to a provision within the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act that will expire at the end of this year.
During the shutdown, the Office of Consumer Education and Ombudsman will be unable to respond to requests, and the resolution of new or pending cases could be delayed.
In terms of processing systems, the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) website is operational and FSA reminded partners that the deadline for submitting the Fiscal Operations Report for 2024–25 and the Application to Participate for 2026–27 (FISAP) for the Campus-Based Programs was 11:59 p.m. Eastern time (ET) on Oct. 1, 2025.
Additionally, the COD System will continue to process Direct Loan promissory notes, accept and process data for all programs from schools, and send back responses/acknowledgments.
The FAFSA is still available for applicants to complete and the FAFSA processing system (FPS) will continue to process FAFSA data and send ISIRs to schools. The FAFSA Partner Portal, FSA Partner Connect, and Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG) all also remain operational.
As mentioned in prior guidance, the G5 website will be unavailable until 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, while ED finalizes its processing and accounting for FY 25. It will then be operational and schools will be able to draw down funds.
HEAL claims may be filed by lenders, but processing will not resume until after the federal government reopens. Similarly, the Electronic Cohort Default Rate Appeals (eCDR Appeals) website remains available, but challenges, adjustments, and appeals will not be processed until the federal government reopens.
National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) remains available to all authorized users. In terms of the gainful employment (GE) and financial value transparency (FVT) reporting deadlines, September 30 was the deadline for the 2024 reporting cycle (including the draft Completers List), and October 1 was the deadline for the 2025 reporting cycle. FSA noted that the draft Completers List for the 2025 cycle will be generated after the federal government reopens. After receiving their list, institutions will have at least 60 days to make any corrections to their data in NSLDS.
During the shutdown, schools can continue to submit eligibility actions using FSA Partner Connect, but applications will not be addressed until the government reopens. Likewise, all schools on HCM2 may submit a reimbursement claim, but those will not be addressed until the shutdown ends. Any program reviews scheduled during the duration of the shutdown will be rescheduled.
While the FSA training center remains operational, any webinars or training sessions scheduled during the lapse in funding will be canceled and updates concerning rescheduled sessions will be made available through the Knowledge Center. While not mentioned in the EA, the FSA Training Center was updated to show the FSA webinar on Charges and Credit Balances scheduled for Wednesday, October 8 has been canceled and will be rescheduled after the shutdown.
Finally, this week’s negotiated rulemaking session has continued with in-person meetings.
As of Wednesday, it is unclear how long this government shutdown could last, with the Senate voting on dueling continuing resolutions that have both failed along near party-line votes. Stay tuned to Today’s News for more coverage of developments concerning the annual budget.
Publication Date: 10/2/2025
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