The rollout of the 2024-2025 FAFSA continues to be bumpy. Unfortunately, since the last newsletter, very little has changed. Many of the same issues that existed in early January continue to be unresolved. Parents who don’t have a Social Security Number are still unable to contribute to or electronically sign their students’ FAFSA. Federal Student …
Helen Faith, Director of the Office of Student Financial Aid, and Katy Weisenburger, Assistant Director of Federal Awards, met with Wisconsin legislative staff in Washington, D.C. David Bagby, Director of Federal Relations, assisted them by scheduling and accompanied them to the meetings. They met with legislative staff from the offices of Senator Baldwin, Senator Johnson, Representative …
The 2024-2025 Better FAFSA® is still soft launching! Students and families who are able to complete the FAFSA® are pleasantly surprised to find that the FAFSA application takes them less time than previous years. Many have reported that it’s taken them less than 10 minutes from start to finish! The speed can likely be attributed …
On December 6, 2023, Governor Evers signed into law 2023 Wisconsin Act 80. This legislation updated state statutes relating to student financial aid, effective beginning with the 2024-25 academic year. The focus was primarily on bringing state statutes into better alignment with the recent changes to federal financial aid policy and processes, and on improving …
With the start of the fall season marks the end of the Hmong festivals and the beginning of the Hmong New Year celebrations. The Hmong New Year is an annual cultural tradition taking place in states and towns across the United States where there are large Hmong communities. At these celebrations, you can find a …
The team at OSFA hosted a variety of events to get the semester started strong for both our new and continuing students. Bucky’ Pell Pathway and BANNER Events Three events in three days to give our incoming students a chance to engage with our team and build community as soon as they get to campus. …
The UW–Madison LEAP (Learn, Experience, Advance, Participate) Forward Internship wrapped up it’s fourth successful summer of the program. LEAP was piloted in the summer of 2018 as a part of UW–Madison’s Anchor Partner Commitment to the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) and the Personalized Pathways Program. LEAP Forward has been designed as an equitable opportunity …
The Office of Student Financial Aid’s Wisconsin Scholarship Hub (WiSH) Support Team hosted an exciting event that fostered collaboration, knowledge exchange, and innovation within the realm of scholarship management. As part of the ongoing efforts to enhance scholarship processes across the Wisconsin higher education institutions, the Wisconsin Blackbaud Award Management (BAM) User Group gathered for …
On July 2, I accepted the gavel at the National Association of Student Aid Administrators’ (NASFAA) annual conference in San Diego, marking the beginning of my term as 2023-24 National Chair. NASFAA provides training and professional development to our members while also engaging in advocacy in the public policy space. NASFAA member institutions serve 9 …
The Student Employment Team in OSFA hosted the Student Employment Summer Summit on Wednesday, July 12th. Despite the rain over 115 staff from campus, off campus work study partners, and colleagues from across the state joined in an afternoon of learning and networking to enhance the student employment experience. Dr. Terrell Strayhorn’s keynote on College …