The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a government form with a reputation for striking fear in the heart of every college student on an annual basis. Students and their parents know – or soon find out – that a student’s entire aid package (even the non-federal aid offered by educational institutions) hinges on how they answer the 107 questions required by the Education Department. And one mistake could cost more than a student loan.
So it’s no wonder that the Education Department’s Office of Federal Student Aid was one of the three winners in the Third Annual Citizen Services Awards for an online support tool to assist FAFSA applicants with their submissions in real time. The tool was implemented by Vangent, Inc. of Arlington, a Professional Services Council member and, as the award attests, one smart contractor.
The award, which was bestowed by the General Services Administration’s Office of Citizen Services at the Interagency Resources Management Conference in April, recognizes government offices for superior citizen support.
According to Vangent, more than 99 percent of applications are now submitted online. The web chat tool Vangent implemented provides students, parents, guardians and financial aid administrators immediate, real-time assistance with FAFSA submissions, allowing more students to successfully apply for aid over the internet.
“Whether it is via the internet or over the phone, e-mail, snail mail or web chat, it’s all about customer choice and satisfaction,” said Craig Janus, senior vice president of Vangent’s Civilian Defense and National Security division in a statement.
And it looks to us like Vangent’s work could make the Federal Student Aid office a strong contender for the Fourth Annual Citizens Services Award. In January, the company helped the department launch a new, simplified FAFSA web form that uses “skip-logic, text pop-ups and IRS data match” to ensure the applicant accurately answers all relevant questions with minimal manual data entry. This not only reduces the amount of time it takes to fill out the form, it also reduces the opportunity to make a potentially costly mistake.
The simplified FAFSA was introduced by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Dr. Jill Biden, and Rhode Island senator Jack Reed at Banneker Senior High School in January 2010. Dr. Biden said:
So it’s no wonder that the Education Department’s Office of Federal Student Aid was one of the three winners in the Third Annual Citizen Services Awards for an online support tool to assist FAFSA applicants with their submissions in real time. The tool was implemented by Vangent, Inc. of Arlington, a Professional Services Council member and, as the award attests, one smart contractor.
The award, which was bestowed by the General Services Administration’s Office of Citizen Services at the Interagency Resources Management Conference in April, recognizes government offices for superior citizen support.
According to Vangent, more than 99 percent of applications are now submitted online. The web chat tool Vangent implemented provides students, parents, guardians and financial aid administrators immediate, real-time assistance with FAFSA submissions, allowing more students to successfully apply for aid over the internet.
“Whether it is via the internet or over the phone, e-mail, snail mail or web chat, it’s all about customer choice and satisfaction,” said Craig Janus, senior vice president of Vangent’s Civilian Defense and National Security division in a statement.
And it looks to us like Vangent’s work could make the Federal Student Aid office a strong contender for the Fourth Annual Citizens Services Award. In January, the company helped the department launch a new, simplified FAFSA web form that uses “skip-logic, text pop-ups and IRS data match” to ensure the applicant accurately answers all relevant questions with minimal manual data entry. This not only reduces the amount of time it takes to fill out the form, it also reduces the opportunity to make a potentially costly mistake.
The simplified FAFSA was introduced by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Dr. Jill Biden, and Rhode Island senator Jack Reed at Banneker Senior High School in January 2010. Dr. Biden said:
"I know first-hand as a parent and as a former high school and current college instructor just how challenging and overwhelming all of the financial aid forms and paperwork can be - and it was great to see how the current forms have fewer questions, easier navigation and are more user-friendly. I spoke with students at the computer lab who expressed relief to be working on the more user-friendly FAFSA. President Obama has challenged the nation to have the highest percentage of college graduates by 2020, and simplifying the FAFSA form is a huge step toward removing barriers to financial aid and access to higher education for all."
