A known bug — not the new fraud screening — is behind a wave of unexpected ISIR rejections. Here’s what’s happening and what to do about it. Background On April 26, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education launched a new real-time identity fraud detection capability within the FAFSA, marking one of the...
On December 8, 2025, the Department of Education published an Electronic Announcement stating that, effective December 7, a low earnings indicator will be implemented on the 2026/2027 FAFSA. This indicator will appear on a first-year undergraduate student’s FAFSA Submission Summary for any institution they select to receive their FAFSA data...
The Department of Education’s RISE Committee concluded its second and final week of negotiations on November 7, reaching full consensus on all proposed regulatory concepts. With consensus achieved, the Department will now draft regulatory text reflecting these agreed-upon positions. While the formal language has not yet been released, the Week...
As the calendar year comes to a close, many institutions are conducting annual performance evaluations, reviewing compensation structures, and planning staffing adjustments for the year ahead. This makes it an ideal time to revisit one of the most closely scrutinized areas of Title IV compliance: the ban on incentive compensation. Institutions...
Whether the Mergers & Acquisitions market is hot or cautious, one truth remains constant: student accounts receivable (A/R) can quietly make—or break—a school acquisition. Unwritten write-offs inflate EBITDA and net working capital, anchoring sellers to higher valuations. Once diligence reveals the real collectability picture, the resulting price reset can be...
The Department of Education’s new Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment (FVT/GE) regulations represent the next major accountability milestone for Title IV institutions. Following the October 1, 2025 reporting deadline, many schools are still working through data validation and error resolution in the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS)—a process...
The Department of Education’s Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) Committee has concluded the first round of negotiated rulemaking under the One Big Beautiful Bill (OB3) statute. Despite a partial federal government shutdown during the session, the Department had planned in advance to keep key Federal Student Aid staff working...
(Originally Posted August 20, 2025 and Updated September 15, 2025) Over the past few months, the Department of Education has significantly increased its fraud prevention measures in the federal student aid process. As a result, schools are seeing a noticeably higher number of ISIRs flagged for verification—particularly V4 and V5—sometimes even...