Dear Colleague:
We are pleased to announce the launch of our 2026–27 FSA Fundamentals Training Series. This training series comprises two courses:
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FSA Fundamentals Online, a self-paced, online course that is now available in our FSA Training Center, and
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FSA Fundamentals Virtual Workshop, an instructor-led, four and one-half days workshop conducted via Zoom.
Note: Participants must complete the FSA Fundamentals Online course before they can register for and attend an FSA Fundamentals Virtual Workshop.
This announcement provides information about the virtual workshops scheduled for October 2026 through April 2027. Note: the virtual workshops are specific to school type: clock-hour/nonterm credit-hour or credit-hour. Participants must attend the workshop that matches their school type.
Clock-Hour/Nonterm Credit-Hour Workshops
Oct. 19–23, 2026
Jan. 25–29, 2027
March 15-19, 2027
Credit-Hour Workshops
Nov. 16–20, 2026
Feb. 22–26, 2027
April 12-16, 2027
Workshop hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time (ET), Monday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. ET on Friday. In addition, participants will be required to complete activities before and after these core hours.
Both the Owner/President/CEO and the Financial Aid Administrator for schools that meet one of the following criteria must complete the online course and attend all four and one-half days of the virtual workshop to fulfill the FSA Fundamentals Training Series requirement.
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Your school is applying to participate in the Title IV federal student aid programs for the first time and needs to fulfill the FSA Fundamentals Training Series requirement to complete certification.
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Your school is undergoing a change of ownership (in some instances).
Questions about these requirements should be directed to FSA’s school eligibility staff at Caseteams@ed.gov.
Please note that the two officials may attend different workshops; they do not need to attend the same session.
People who do not meet the criteria outlined above may attend as a refresher or as basic training on the Title IV programs. Please note that we also offer FSA Basic Training for New Staff in the FSA Training Center. This is a more flexible, self-paced training course ideally suited for newly hired financial aid administrators, staff from outside the financial aid office, and financial aid administrators in need of a refresher course. For more information on which course is right for you, please complete a short microlearning titled “Fundamentals vs Basics” that can be accessed through the “Start Your Training Here” icon in the center of the FSA Training Center homepage.
Participants must first successfully complete the FSA Fundamentals Online course before they can register for the FSA Fundamentals Virtual Workshop. Note: Workshop registration closes 12 days prior to the course start. Please plan ahead and complete the online training so you can register for the virtual workshop you want to attend.
To access the FSA Fundamentals Online course, log in to the FSA Training Center with your username and password. If you don’t have a username and password scroll to the bottom of the log-in page and choose "Create new account." Follow the instructions to create a username and password.
After logging in, select “Training Courses” from the main menu then select “FSA Fundamentals Training Series.” Select FSA Fundamentals Online under Step 1, then select “Start Here” to begin the course.
After successfully completing the online course, you can select the FSA Virtual Fundamentals Workshop under Step 2 on the “FSA Fundamental Training Series” page to complete the registration process. If you are unable to attend, we require that you cancel your registration so that other people who wish to attend may do so. Your seat in the workshop is reserved until you cancel your registration.
Participants who successfully completed the FSA Fundamentals Online 2025–26 course will be allowed to register for one of the virtual workshops scheduled through May 2027. Participants who completed the 2025–26 Fundamentals Training Series (both the online course and instructor-led virtual workshop) will NOT be allowed to register for another virtual workshop due to space restrictions.
The FSA Fundamentals Online course and the FSA Fundamentals Virtual Workshop address the following topics:
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What are the Title IV federal student aid programs?
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How does a school obtain and maintain institutional eligibility?
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What must a school do to request and receive funds from the U.S. Department of Education?
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What policies and procedures must a school have in place?
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How does a school process aid for its students by determining eligibility, calculating financial need, packaging aid, adjusting aid, and recalculating aid?
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What are the requirements for disbursing aid to students?
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What must a school do regarding student departures and calculating a return of Title IV aid (R2T4)?
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What are the reporting requirements for a school?
We recommend you have pens or pencils, highlighters, and a calculator on hand for the virtual sessions. In addition, because our goal is to replicate the in-person classroom experience as much as possible, a webcam on your computer is required. We also recommend you follow the instructions in the registration confirmation email to download and print all workshop materials prior to the start of the first session.
At the end of the virtual workshop, instructions will be provided for printing a Certificate of Completion for the FSA Fundamentals Training Series in the FSA Training Center.
We look forward to your participation in this training opportunity. If you have questions about the FSA Fundamentals Training Series or the registration process, please send an email to helpdesk.fsatraining@ed.gov.
Sincerely,
Federal Student Aid