The Department of Education has announced that, starting June 29, 2025, schools must report Federal Work-Study (FWS) earnings for the 2024 calendar year using the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System and Campus-Based XML Schema Version 1.0b. This data will be utilized in the 2026–27 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) processing cycle.
Key Reporting Requirements:
- Who Must Report: All institutions participating in the FWS program are required to report earnings for each student who received FWS wages in 2024, regardless of the student’s current enrollment status.
- What to Report: Schools must report the total gross FWS earnings (combining both institutional and federal shares) paid to each student between January 1 and December 31, 2024. This includes any non-cash compensation, such as tuition or housing credits, unless provided by a federally approved Work College under a comprehensive work-service-learning program.
- Reporting Methods: Institutions can submit data either through batch processing using the Campus-Based XML Schema Version 1.0b or directly via the COD website. Required data elements include the student’s last name, date of birth, Social Security Number, FAFSA Processing System (FPS) Transaction Number, total FWS earnings, and the calendar year.
- Reporting Options: Schools have two options for reporting FWS earnings:
- Calendar Year Totals by Award Year: Submit separate totals for portions of the calendar year that fall into different award years.
- Calendar Year Total Amount Only: Submit a single total amount for the entire calendar year without specifying award years.
Once a reporting method is chosen and records are accepted, schools cannot switch methods without first zeroing out all accepted records and resubmitting.
- Multiple Institutions Reporting: If a student received FWS earnings from multiple institutions, each must report their respective amounts. The COD System will aggregate these amounts for accurate Student Aid Index (SAI) calculations.
- Deadline: To ensure timely processing and accurate SAI calculations, schools are strongly encouraged to complete the submission and acceptance of 2024 FWS earnings data before the release of the 2026–27 FAFSA form, targeted for October 1, 2025.
Additional information can be found in the official announcement here: (CB-25-10) Operational Information – Reporting Calendar Year 2024 Federal Work-Study Earnings to the COD System Using the Campus-Based XML Schema Version 1.0b