Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., center, flanked by Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., left, and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, right, questions Education Secretary Miguel Cardona during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, to examine the 2025 budget for the Department of Education. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

CHARLESTON — U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said Thursday that continued issues for families and students trying to submit the new form for federal aid to help with the costs of colleges and universities are catastrophic.

Speaking Thursday afternoon on a virtual briefing with press from her offices at the U.S. Capitol Building, Capito said problems with the new Federal Application for Federal Student Aid are creating uncertainty for families in West Virginia and nationwide, blame she lays at the feet of President Joe Biden.

“May 1 was College Decision Day,” said Capito, R-W.Va. “Unfortunately, because of the ineptness, really, of the Department of Ed of the Biden administration, the financial assistance forms are totally messed up … it’s just been a disaster.”

On Tuesday, Capito questioned Miguel Cardona, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, about the issues plaguing the rollout of the new FAFSA application.

“Have you apologized?” Capito asked Cardona. “Have you said ‘we know we’ve really screwed this up and we need … to make it better for, not just the students, but the institutions as well?'”

“Absolutely,” Cardona responded. “We’ve made those corrections and we are accurately processing information.”

The U.S. Department of Education created a new FAFSA application process at the beginning of 2024 after four years of delays after Congress mandated the department to create an easier, streamlined application process. But since the rollout, the new FAFSA system has been replete with glitches and delays for parents and students trying to determine what share of the cost of higher education they will have to bear, and how much in grants and low-interest loans are available.

Glitches included some students being unable to provide their Social Security numbers, failure by the department to update the calculations used to determine financial need and families being locked out of completing the form. While the FAFSA application period typically opens in October every year, this year’s period was delayed until last December. But issues caused further delays until March.

The department has said that many of the FAFSA issues have been fixed. But with a June 30 FAFSA deadline, many families have yet to try to apply again. As of Tuesday, the department has processed 8.4 million applications compared to the approximately 17 million applications processed in a typical year.

According to data provided to Capito from the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, FAFSA completion among West Virginia high school students is down 40%, with FAFSA completion among non-traditional students ager 25 and up was down 35%.

“These are people that have maybe postponed going since high school and have decided to go, and they’re just not applying because of all the confusion,” Capito said. “This is a catastrophic failure on the part of the Department of Ed.”

Capito said she’s been in contact with college and university presidents in West Virginia, as well as Sarah Armstrong Tucker, the chancellor of the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission. Capito said it may be too late for this fall semester to repair the damage done.

“They had four years to make this transition, to simplify the form, and they simply failed,” Capito said. “I’m hoping that next year it will be better. But for this year I’m concerned, because obviously it hurts and harms our first-time college goers. It also (hurts) anybody who’s trying to find out how they’re going to put into a financial aid package together to attend college, which is a daunting challenge and a big decision..”

Gov. Jim Justice declared a state of emergency Tuesday in order to allow state sources of higher education grant funding, including the PROMISE Scholarship, to be distributed to eligible students. The grants are typically not released until a student completes a FAFSA form.

“What that did do was allow for the state to at least engage with the students and let them know what they can get on the state level,” Capito said. “Otherwise (HEPC) wouldn’t have even been able to release those funds until the FAFSA’s done….I think Gov. Justice made a great move there. Very smart.”