Vice Chancellors Rob Cramer and Dorota Grejner-Brzezinska said in an Oct. 10 email to University of Wisconsin-Madison students the government shutdown will impact many aspects of UW operations but stressed that financial aid is not expected to be impacted.
Grants and scholarships awarded to students through FAFSA are guaranteed through their universities, meaning the government shutdown will likely not affect their financial aid funding in the short-term. Scholarship programs like Bucky’s Pell Pathway and BANNER are not expected to alter aid awards either, despite relying on FAFSA applications to determine scholarship amounts for students.
“Federal funds provide the single largest share of the university’s budget,” Cramer and Grejner-Brezezinska said. “A shutdown will primarily affect university research operations, though any broader implications depend largely on the length of the shutdown and the corresponding guidance provided by federal agencies.”
The FAFSA website currently displays a message saying due to a “lapse in appropriations,” information on the Federal Student Aid webpage may not be completely up-to-date.
The shutdown started Oct. 1 after Congress could not agree on funding through the end of the year. Through the Antideficiency Act, federal agencies cannot spend or allocate funds without prior Congressional approval.
In a government shutdown, “non-essential” government agencies cease to operate, while “essential” agencies and employees continue to function. Employees working for non-essential agencies are “furloughed,” meaning they are on an unpaid leave of absence from work.
Currently, 632 of the 747 employees at the Office of Federal Student Aid are furloughed, and about 87% of the Department of Education’s (ED) 2,450 employees, aside from those distributing student aid and grants to low-income schools, were also furloughed.
The statement on FAFSA’s website said forms, including the 2026-27 form, can be submitted, but there may not be a response to these submissions until after the shutdown. The statement also clarified that those with federal student loans should still continue to make payments.
Students applying for federal loans or loan forgiveness programs may experience processing delays as well. Borrowers looking for assistance through the ED will not be able to receive help during the shutdown period, but other federal financial aid operations may be available if they are carried out by contractors, not the federal government itself.
“It is our understanding that the current federal government shutdown will not impact the disbursement of federal student financial aid. With the fall term starting last month, most students have already had their disbursements posted and disbursements will continue throughout the semester at this time. If the situation changes, we will notify impacted students,” the UW Office of Student Financial Aid said in a statement on their website.
The most recent government shutdown in 2018-19 during President Donald Trump’s first term lasted 35 days, so it would be unprecedented for the government to remain closed long enough to affect funding for the Spring 2026 semester.
Many scholarship committees and organizations create contingency plans for situations like government shutdowns. Funding for most aid programs is obligated about a year in advance, so a short-term shutdown will likely not affect federal aid awards.
At UW-Madison, scholarship money is disbursed to recipients before the semester begins, with fall semester aid already distributed and spring semester aid usually promised in an award letter sent to students after they complete their FAFSA form. Financial aid will still likely be disbursed before the spring semester begins in January.
