Usability Improvements to the Process of Applying for Financial Aid for College
The U.S. Department of Education’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the means by which over 16 million students annually initiate the process of applying for financial aid for college. UserWorks has been working periodically with the U.S. Department of Education since 1999 to improve the usability of the FAFSA, as well as other aspects of the federal student aid process.
This has included iterative usability testing of both the paper and web-based FAFSA, testing of the Student Aid Report that is subsequently sent to students, applying for and using a Personal Identification Number, and soliciting user feedback on the “early awareness” materials that are used to publicize the financial aid process. Much of this effort has focused on the needs of low income, minority, and “first generation” students applying for aid.
The resulting design changes have improved the wording of instructions, made the layout and labeling of the forms less intimidating, and enhanced the look and branding of the materials. A major success has been the steady increase in the proportion of users, now a large majority, who are completing the financial aid process electronically. This trend has saved the Department of Education considerable costs, cut down on errors in the application, and shortened application processing and turnaround times for the student applicants.
By Andrew Schall and Dick Horst
UserWorks, Inc.
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