August 2025

Shifting Ground Part 1: The Federal Shake-up in Higher Education

August 27, 2025

Higher education is entering a period of unprecedented change. As the federal government reshapes the role of the Department of Education (ED), colleges and universities are facing a future where the familiar frameworks for financial aid, compliance, and institutional accountability may look completely different.

The question for presidents, CFOs, enrollment leaders, and financial aid directors isn’t whether change is coming—it’s how to prepare for it now.

What’s Changing: A Shrinking Department of Education

While the Department of Education has historically focused much of its resources on K–12, it has supported higher education in four critical ways:

Billions in aid: Disbursing loans, grants, and work-study dollars
Civil rights enforcement: Ensuring compliance on campuses
Data insights: Gathering and analyzing student data for policy and trends
Accreditation oversight: Safeguarding eligibility for federal aid

But today, the ground is shifting. Conversations in Washington suggest that these functions could be redistributed:

Why This Matters

For institutions with strong cash reserves, delayed federal disbursements may be inconvenient but manageable. For schools already operating with tight budgets, disruptions to aid flow could present serious financial risks—potentially affecting payroll, vendor contracts, and, most critically, student enrollment.

Another looming challenge? The loss of a centralized knowledge hub. The Federal Student Aid Office (FSA) is a trusted resource for interpreting policies and answering compliance questions. Splitting its functions among multiple agencies could create confusion and slow down response times—exactly when clarity is needed most.

Strategic Actions for Campus Leaders

To weather this period of instability, campus leaders need to act before the disruption reaches a tipping point:

Action	Why It Matters
1. Build Contingency Plans	Model operational and cash flow scenarios in case federal aid is delayed.
2. Secure Expertise	Partner with financial aid compliance experts to interpret shifting regulations quickly.
3. Strengthen State-Level Relationships	Build connections with state authorities to anticipate new responsibilities and compliance expectations.
4. Monitor Federal Developments	Stay informed on HEA discussions—changes here will have the broadest ripple effects.

A Leadership Moment

This shake-up is not just an operational issue—it’s a leadership moment. Institutions that proactively plan for disruption, cultivate expert insight, and maintain agility in their operations will be better positioned to safeguard their financial health and their students’ trust.

Change is inevitable. Strategic readiness is optional.

4 Reasons Interim Staffing Safeguards Enrollment and Compliance in Higher Education

August 18, 2025

For today’s higher education leaders, ensuring uninterrupted financial aid operations isn’t simply about managing workflows—it’s about protecting enrollment outcomes, institutional revenue, and regulatory standing. With federal and state policy changes accelerating, the margin for error in financial aid has narrowed.

When staffing shortages or unexpected transitions occur, the risks are immediate: delayed awarding, compliance violations, diminished student satisfaction, and weakened enrollment pipelines. Interim staffing from FAS offers an executive-level solution. Our seasoned consultants bring decades of experience, arrive ready to perform, and ensure continuity where it matters most.

1. Overcoming Hiring Delays in a Tight Market

Recruiting qualified financial aid professionals is increasingly difficult—particularly for institutions outside major metro areas. Even after securing a candidate, the onboarding ramp is long, while critical enrollment and compliance deadlines wait for no one.

Did you know? The median time to fill higher education staff positions is 57 days (CUPA-HR, 2023)—nearly two months of potential disruption.

With interim staffing, you bypass these delays. FAS consultants step in immediately, ensuring student awarding stays on schedule, compliance is maintained, and institutional objectives are not jeopardized by talent shortages.

2. Immediate Expertise to Maintain Compliance and Service

Financial aid is central to both access and revenue. Yet when vacancies occur, your team faces compounded risks: missed Title IV deadlines, regulatory missteps, and student frustration.

Over 85% of undergraduates rely on some form of financial aid (NCES, 2022). Even short delays in awarding packages can significantly impact enrollment decisions.

Our experts are operational on day one. They bring proven expertise across Title IV regulations and student information systems—Banner, Colleague, PeopleSoft, Workday, and PowerFAIDS—ensuring uninterrupted compliance and preserving the student experience that directly impacts yield and retention.

3. Flexible Capacity for Enrollment Peaks and Strategic Initiatives

From verification season to technology upgrades or reconciliation cycles, the demands on financial aid can spike dramatically. FAS offers scalable staffing that flexes with your calendar and strategy. Whether you need surge support during enrollment peaks or specialized knowledge for major projects, our professionals align with your operational model and budget parameters—without long-term commitments.

1 in 3 colleges report understaffing in financial aid (NASFAA, 2022) as a barrier to processing peak workloads.

4. Safeguarding Continuity During Leadership Transitions

Leadership vacancies in financial aid or enrollment services can create significant institutional risk: slowed awarding, delayed disbursement cycles, increased compliance exposure, and weakened enrollment projections.

58% of colleges experienced a cabinet-level departure in the past two years (ACE, 2023).

FAS bridges these transitions, stabilizing operations while you conduct a thorough search for permanent leadership. Our consultants maintain compliance, sustain service levels, and protect enrollment goals, ensuring continuity at a critical juncture.

Why FAS is the Partner of Choice

Deep bench of professionals with decades of experience
End-to-end staffing solutions, from directors to operational staff
Mission-critical coverage that protects compliance, enrollment, and revenue streams

Interim staffing is not a stopgap—it is a strategic safeguard. With FAS, presidents, CFOs, and enrollment leaders can ensure institutional stability, compliance confidence, and student satisfaction during any transition.

Learn more: Financial Aid Services – Interim Staffing

The Importance of Customer Service in Student Financial Services

August 6, 2025

By: Samantha Shores

Associate Consultant, Financial Aid Services

Customer service in the student financial aid office is not a new concept, but in an increasingly digital world, customer service is more important than ever before. Students and their parents are the customers in higher education, and student experience is a critical deciding factor in school choice. Timely communication about financial aid offers, disbursements, and proactive updates, combined with meaningful face time with counselors, all play a pivotal role in shaping that experience. These factors make exceptional customer service more critical than ever for fostering trust, reducing stress, and supporting student success.

Benefits of Excellent Customer Service in Financial Aid

When customer-centric models are implemented, many benefits can be achieved:

Long-term brand trust
Improved satisfaction scores
A competitive recruitment edge

Institutions can improve their customer service practices by:

Supporting Students and Families

Applying for financial aid can be a complex and overwhelming process for many students and their families. They often have questions, concerns, and need guidance to navigate through the various aid programs, forms, and requirements. Sometimes these questions are not adequately addressed as 80% of students who applied for financial aid say they never met with an aid administrator one-on-one. Excellent customer service ensures that students and their families receive the support they need during this critical phase of their education journey.

Fostering Accessibility and Inclusivity

Good customer service ensures that all students, regardless of their backgrounds or circumstances, can access and understand the financial aid options available to them. This inclusivity is essential to provide equal opportunities for students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds.

Building Trust and Confidence

Financial aid plays a significant role in a student’s ability to afford higher education. When the student financial aid office delivers excellent customer service, it builds trust and confidence in the institution and the aid process. This trust is vital for students to feel assured that their financial needs will be met and encourages them to continue their education.

Creating a Positive Reputation and Institutional Image

The level of customer service provided by the financial aid office reflects the institution. Positive experiences lead to satisfied students who are more likely to share their positive experiences, contributing to a good institutional reputation and attracting potential new students.

Reducing Administrative Burden

Efficient customer service processes can help streamline administrative tasks and reduce the number of follow-up inquiries. By having well-informed staff who can address questions promptly, the financial aid office can function more efficiently.

Handling Complex Situations

Financial aid may involve unique or challenging situations for some students, such as special circumstances, appeal processes, or unforeseen financial changes. Excellent customer service helps address these complexities with empathy and care, finding suitable solutions for students in need.

Overall, exceptional customer service in the student financial aid office is a vital component in ensuring that students can access the financial resources they need to pursue their educational goals successfully. It creates a positive and supportive environment that contributes to the overall satisfaction and success of students throughout their academic journey.

Partner with FAS to Build a Better Student Experience

At Financial Aid Services (FAS), we help institutions build a better student experience. Our consultants are available to partner with you on an interim basis to optimize your financial aid department.

“The outcome of having FAS here has been a remarkable turnaround with improved customer service and streamlined processes. They also built up the confidence level of our staff.”

– (Retired) Associate Vice President of Student Services, San Juan College

Partner with FAS to build a better student experience.

References

Better Peace of Mind: How Proactive Title IV Compliance Protects Your Institution

August 4, 2025

Clean financial aid audits never happen by chance. They are a result of embedding compliance best practices into your systems, staffing, and office culture. In many ways, compliance is the trust currency of financial aid. Without that trust, even the best technology or fastest packaging timeline can’t prevent the ripple effects—disrupted funding flows, leadership concerns, and weakened student confidence.

Why Compliance Can’t Be an Afterthought

Title IV regulations consist of over 1,000 pages of regulation and many of them read as densely as a tax code. While the rules are federally defined, institutions still face real-world challenges in applying them consistently.

The complexity of successfully following these rules is compounded by how differently institutions apply them in execution—based on local policies, staffing capacity and operational constraints.

And the stakes are higher than ever. When polled about the top challenges faced by financial aid teams, 48% of leaders cited changing federal, state, and local regulations. Because when institutions fall out of compliance, they don’t just get a warning, there is a significant risk of being placed on Heightened Cash Monitoring (HCM) status, a designation that disrupts aid disbursement, often overwhelms staff, and triggers immediate reputational risk.

The Hidden Cost of Non-Compliance

Besides the financial impact, the cost of compliance is also operational and reputational. Even under the best conditions, staying compliant with state and federal regulations can carry a steep cost. A multi-institutional study found that colleges and universities spend between 3% and 11% of their annual operating budgets (excluding hospitals) on federal compliance.

The hidden costs of non-compliance are too high to ignore. When an institution enters HCM status, an already understaffed financial aid department becomes solely focused on mitigating its compliance issues, and the student experience suffers. Add to the situation staff burnout, enrollment delays, and reputation loss – it’s clear the costly effects of not remaining in compliance.

When an institution is placed on Heightened Cash Monitoring (HCM), those costs accelerate, triggering staff challenges, delayed disbursements, and strained trust with students and leadership alike. Rebuilding credibility—not just compliance, can take years.

“Too many colleges and universities underestimate the financial risk they’re carrying around compliance, and those are consequences that can have a significant impact on your institution and your students.”
— Robert Heil, Challenges Deserve Solutions, Episode 4

Compliance is a Shared Responsibility

Compliance is not just a financial aid issue; it’s a university-wide concern. Managing Title IV aid demands collaboration between Academic Records, Financial Aid, and Information Technology Services to ensure consistent and precise reporting. When these departments align, they create the foundation for A Better Compliance Model—one of the four strategic pillars of the FAS Better Financial Aid Model.

Strategic Outcomes of a Better Compliance Model

When institutions embrace proactive compliance, they gain:

Fewer audit surprises

Consistent funding flows

Increased leadership confidence

Innovation without fear

What Keeps You up at Night about Compliance?

If compliance risk is pulling your team into reactive mode or keeping leadership on edge, it’s time for a better model. Connect with FAS today and let’s talk about building compliance operations that don’t just protect your institution but help it stay ahead of the curve.