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TASFA subcommittee targets bilingual application, dependency alignment and UX fixes for 26–27 TASFA cycle
Summary
TASFA subcommittee presented four near‑term enhancements it will pursue for the 2026–27 TASFA cycle: add a bilingual English/Spanish toggle, align the TASFA dependency section with FAFSA (separate homeless‑youth questions), improve date‑picker UX, and add application IDs to files delivered to institutions.
A TASFA subcommittee update at the FAAC meeting outlined four feasible enhancements for the 2026–27 TASFA application cycle and asked stakeholders for feedback by March 14.
The subcommittee said its top priorities were: adding a bilingual online TASFA (English/Spanish toggle); aligning the TASFA dependency section more closely with the FAFSA (including separating homeless‑youth determination questions); improving calendar/date‑picker features in the web form; and appending the TASFA application ID to the end of files institutions receive to improve match rates.
The presenter said those four items were judged feasible for the 26–27 cycle after a subcommittee survey of users and stakeholders. The group is taking input through a short survey and by inviting additional volunteers to join the TASFA subcommittee. “We are still accepting members, so that we can continue to have a diverse group of people from different stakeholders across the state,” the presenter said.
Laura (staff) placed the survey link in the meeting chat and noted the comment period closes March 14. Committee members said they would encourage testers and end‑users — including counselors and students — to participate in testing and pilot work; the subcommittee noted past practice included using external volunteers and testers to validate usability.
The FAAC discussion also noted representation already included community colleges, four‑year publics, high‑school counselors and nonprofit partners, but the subcommittee invited further participation to broaden the testing sample.
If implemented, the bilingual toggle and dependency alignment are intended to reduce errors and the number of help calls from families, while the application‑ID change aims to reduce manual reconciliation work for campus offices.
