The U.S. Department of Education sent hundreds of thousands of inaccurate student financial aid assessments to colleges in recent weeks, it acknowledged Friday – an error it blamed on an outside vendor.
Although the announcement said the problem has been resolved, it likely will further delay financial aid offers to college and high school students.
Critics described the oversight as the latest misstep in the Biden administration’s rollout of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, a college financial aid form used by millions of students every year. A congressional mandate to streamline the form has been beset with glitches and blunders, eroding trust between colleges and the federal officials they rely on to help them dole out financial aid to students.