Student Financial Aid for public institutions reporting on a fall cohort

The following changes were implemented for the 2024-25 data collection period:

• Moved the cost of attendance and average net price data items to the new IPEDS Cost (CST) survey component.
• Updated the SFA Survey form and instructions based on legislative changes, U.S. Department of Education guidance, and industry practices.
• Applied the screening question from Section 2 to all institutions.
• Applied the context box from Section 2 to all institutions. 
• Clarified loans to students reported in Section 1, Part C, Line 7 include private education loans.
• Clarified Fall Enrollment (EF) student counts are carried forward and used to calculate average aid amounts and percentages for academic reporters whereas 12-Month Enrollment (E12) student counts are carried forward and used to calculate average aid amount and percentages for program reporters throughout the survey. 
• Eliminated the multiple forms that were historically presented on the survey materials page; however, there remain differences in how institutions report. Those differences are indicated in gold text on the single remaining form as presented to OMB. Institutions will not see the gold text and will only see the screens that are applicable to them

The following changes were implemented for the 2023-24 data collection period:

Removed the 'Groups terminology'
Renumbered lines on screens and in instructions
Reiterated instructions on what is reported in each part for specific students and reporting periods
Rephrased "room and board" terminology in survey materials to "food and housing," including Glossary terms
Added FAQ regarding inclusion of incarcerated students Revised FAQ regarding experimental site participants  

Data Reporting Reminders:

Report data to accurately reflect the time period corresponding with the IPEDS survey component, even if such reporting is seemingly inconsistent with prior year reporting. Undergraduate Student Groups You will be asked to report information for different groups of students. Group 1: All undergraduate students Group 2: Of Group 1, full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students (FTFT) Group 3: Of Group 2, FTFT students who paid the lower of in-state/in-district tuition rate and were awarded any grant/scholarship aid from the federal government, state/local government, or the institution Group 4: Of Group 2, FTFT students who paid the lower of in-state/in-district tuition rate and were awarded any Title IV federal student aid COA Revisions Revisions to Cost of Attendance (COA) used to calculate the net price of attendance can be made in this component. Consult the instructions and screens to make sure you are reporting the correct aid amounts for the correct groups of students. College Affordability and Transparency Lists Net price amounts calculated in SFA will be used to populate the U.S. Department of Education’s College Affordability and Transparency lists. Interactive Edits and Error Messages SFA contains interactive edits that will check for blank fields, invalid values, or values that fall outside expected ranges. Some error messages will require you to confirm or explain the values that you entered. Some error messages are fatal and will require you to contact the IPEDS Help Desk at (877) 225-2568 for resolution. Context Boxes You will find optional text boxes throughout SFA. Context boxes allow you to provide more information about the data you enter. Some of these context boxes may be made available to the public on College Navigator, so make sure that the information you enter can be understood easily by students, parents and the general public.