Reps. Lori Trahan (D-MA) and Lloyd Smucker (R-PA) on Tuesday introduced the Financial Aid Communication and Transparency Act of 2019 — or FACT Act — a bipartisan bill created to bring some standardization to financial aid offer forms by mandating the use of standard terms and definitions, as well as requiring institutions to include a “quick reference box” allowing students to quickly compare aid offers.
The FACT Act, which is supported by NASFAA, mandates few formatting requirements except for the requirement that any formatting doesn’t present loan options as aid that reduces the amount owed to the institution or the net price. The bill directs the Department of Education (ED) to conduct consumer testing that establishes standardized definitions and groupings of aid type and determines any additional elements that should be included in financial aid offers.
The FACT Act is the second bill introduced this session specifically focused on financial aid offers. Last April, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced the Understanding the True Cost of College Act, which took a more prescriptive approach to aid offers.