Dear Colleague:
We are pleased to announce that the Learning Tracks available in the FSA Training Center are updated with 2026–27 content as of July 3, 2026. Learning Tracks offer short, focused courses on single-item subjects in categories such as Awarding Pell Grants, Calculating Return of Title IV Aid, and School Eligibility. For 2026–27, there are nine categories offering 32 different “tracks.”
Learning Tracks are specific to an award year. You are encouraged to complete training each year to keep your understanding of the topic current. Your Record of Learning will reflect this, and you will be able to download Certificates of Completion for completing the new year’s tracks.
In addition to annual updates and enhancements across all topics, we added new interactive learning activities to 25 of the courses used in the 2026–27 award year Learning Tracks. You will find some of these new activities in the following learning tracks:
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The FAFSA Process
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Use and Disclosure of Federal Tax Information and FAFSA Data
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Basics of School Eligibility
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Aid Administration for Programs Offered in Modules
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Direct Loan Counseling
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School Reporting Requirements
We are also pleased to announce that the FSA Basic Training for New Staff training course is updated with 2026–27 content as of July 3, 2026. This asynchronous, online course is designed for newly hired, entry-level financial aid administrators, as well as school officials from outside the financial aid office who want to learn how to administer the federal student aid programs. It can also be used as a comprehensive refresher course for more-experienced staff.
By completing the 12 modules in this course, you will gain a basic understanding of the parts and pieces of federal student aid administration. The course is self-paced and takes 40–45 hours to complete, depending on your learning style and any familiarity you may already have with the material. We encourage you to complete the training over several weeks to have time to absorb and engage with the information.
Note: We also offer FSA Fundamentals Online, a training course that provides comprehensive instruction on the administration of the federal student aid programs. While these two courses are similar in content, they are designed for unique audiences and are also unique in course design. To ensure that you are enrolling in the course that 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.
To access the updated content, log into the FSA Training Center with your username and password. Choose a category under “Learning Tracks” to find a course of interest or access the FSA Basic Training for New Staff 2026–27, under “Training Courses.”
Note: 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.
The new Learning Tracks and FSA Basic Training for New Staff cover basic information about the changes contained in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) and subsequent rulemaking. Please stay tuned for a future announcement about additional in-depth self-paced online courses on OBBBA topics.
We look forward to your participation in these training opportunities. If you have questions, please send an email to helpdesk.fsatraining@ed.gov.
Sincerely,
Federal Student Aid