The Río Piedras campus of the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) informed its students that it is experiencing a delay in processing thousands of students’ free applications for federal financial aid (FAFSA) due to a dramatic increase in the number of documents sent to them by the federal government for “verification.”

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This has meant that, with classes about to begin, some students have been unable to complete their enrollment or have had to make unexpected payments, as it is still unclear whether they will receive aid such as Pell grants or student loans.

“Many people have not been able to complete their enrollment,” said a student at the Río Piedras campus, who asked not to be identified.

Similar stories abound among groups of university students who have taken to social media to voice their complaints, some with images of the breakdown of charges they have received from the UPR. One student was offered the option of an extension to divide his tuition payment into installments, which required an initial payment of more than $600.

“Never, in all my years at university, had I had to pay for an extension, and it was the only alternative offered to me by my financial aid officer (...) without knowing if I had that money and having submitted my FAFSA almost three months ago,” lamented another student.

The vice president of Student Affairs at the UPR, Jonathan Muñoz Barreto, explained that this is a “technical situation” between the federal Department of Education and the campus, which should not affect the eligibility of university students to receive aid.

“For some reason, the federal government is flagging applications as needing to be verified by an aid officer. Right now, the number that has been returned for verification is higher than usual,” Muñoz Barreto said.

The campus administration specified that 85% of the applications submitted need to be verified. Previously, the average was 18%.

In response, the Río Piedras campus postponed the registration cancellation deadline until August 14 for those students who have not made payment or confirmed that they are receiving a scholarship. The start of classes at the Río Piedras campus was delayed until August 18 due to the need to install a new cooling tower to address a failure in the central air conditioning system.

The vice president of Student Affairs indicated that the delay with the FAFSA did not influence the decision to postpone the first day of classes.

“That delay gives us some breathing room to address this in a timely manner,” he acknowledged.

The FAFSA, which is essential for obtaining aid such as Pell Grants and student loans, and the platform through which it is completed, were revamped by the federal Department of Education for the 2024-2025 academic year, in accordance with a 2020 law.

One of the main changes to the FAFSA is that it allows for the automatic retrieval of a student’s household tax information that has been provided to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). In previous interviews with El Nuevo Día last year, university leaders explained that, in some cases, the FAFSA platform has taken the information identified by the IRS for those who filled out Form 1040-PR to apply for the so-called child credit and discards—or does not even accept—the information from the income tax return filed with the Department of the Treasury.

“The changes to the application implemented last year did not take into account the unique situation of people who work in Puerto Rico, who may have simultaneous records in the IRS and Department of the Treasury systems,” explained the administration of the Río Piedras campus in a written communication sent to students.

Muñoz Barreto pointed out that this increase in the number of applications subject to verification has only been reported at the Río Piedras campus. No problems of concern have arisen at other campuses.

Rafael Rafols, a first-year civil engineering student at the University of Puerto Rico’s Mayagüez Campus, had to go to the financial aid office on Monday, his first day of classes, to submit documents related to financial aid. He explained that his mother fills out both the federal and state tax returns and had to provide proof of her income.

“It was difficult for me,” he said.

“I had to request an extension,” added Rafols, referring to the mechanism he used to divide his tuition payment into installments while waiting for his scholarship application to be processed.

Alongside him, a young RUM student who did not want to be identified said that his course selection for this semester had already been canceled twice due to lack of payment and confirmation. He went to the Financial Aid Office on Monday to also request an extension.

RUM Chancellor Agustín Rullán Toro said that no major disruption in FAFSA processing has been detected on campus. Meanwhile, the financial aid officer at the Mayagüez campus, Yamil Negrón Vargas, said that the situations that have been reported are due to changes established last year by the federal government. He explained, for example, that now parents or guardians of students must provide their financial information using a different document than the student, with their own credentials, and they receive the link to do so by email.

“Students fill out half of the FAFSA and send an invitation to their parents. What happens? There are still students who don’t fully understand the process, and many of them haven’t realized that they’ve already filled out their part and that their parents still have that part left to complete,” he said.

The new platform limits the ability of institutions to correct applications, Negrón Vargas said, so it is the student themselves who must address the issues, not university staff.

Meanwhile, no problems have arisen among the main private universities in Puerto Rico.

Lizbeth Rivera Mejías, associate vice president of Student Financing at Ana G. Méndez University, pointed out that, compared to last year, the university system has received more completed applications from students. So far, about 3% of applications, calculated based on this year’s total enrollment, have been flagged for review.

“We do have cases of verifications; it’s the normal process of the federal Department of Education. But it has been a normal volume, both this year and last year,” she said.

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This content was translated from Spanish to English using artificial intelligence and was reviewed by an editor before being published.