On July 1, 2026, Federal Student Aid (FSA) posted an electronic announcement about the requirements for the final Financial Value Transparency & Gainful Employment (FVT/GE) reporting cycle, beginning July 1, 2026.
In this announcement, FSA advised there is additional flexibility for submitting the Student Level Report for reporting year 2026; some data fields, which were required in reporting years 2024 and 2025 are now optional for reporting year 2026.
What’s Changing for Reporting Year 2026
The National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) will accept a blank value for the following Student Level Report data fields:
- Date Student Completed or Withdrew from Program (Total Amount TA)
- Total Amount of Institutional Debt During Student’s Entire Enrollment in the Program (TA)
- Student’s Enrollment Status as of the 1st Day of Enrollment in the Program (Annual Amount AA)
- Program Attendance Status During Award Year (TA, AA)
- Program Attendance Status Date During Award Year (AA)
- Residency Tuition Status by State or District (AA)
This change applies only to the Student Level Report for reporting year 2026.
- There are no changes to the Student Level Report file layout (format specifications) for reporting year 2026.
- There are no changes to the Program Level Report for reporting year 2026.
Clearinghouse FVT/GE Dashboard Enhancement
In alignment with FSA guidance, validation logic has been updated for Student Level Report submissions for reporting year 2026.
For 2026 Student Level Report uploads:
- Valid values are accepted for the optional Student Level Report data fields.
- Error code(s) will flag for invalid data to either be corrected or updated to be blank.
- Blank values will prompt new warning code(s) to flag for optional Student Level Report data fields.
- Warning code(s) will flag when a blank value is submitted on an optional field. If the optional field has been intentionally left blank, the warning code is informational and only requires acknowledgement, not correction.
New Warning Code Descriptions for Optional Data Fields:
- Warning Code 5151: Program Attendance Status During Award Year is invalid.
- Warning Code 5152: Program Attendance Status Date During Award Year is invalid.
- Warning Code 5153: Date Student Completed or Withdrew from Program is invalid.
- Warning Code 5154: Student’s Enrollment Status as of the 1st Day of Enrollment in the Program is invalid.
- Warning Code 5155: Total Amount of Institutional Debt During Student’s Entire Enrollment in the Program is invalid.
- Warning Code 5156: Residency Tuition Status by State or District must be IS, ID, or OS.
Updated FVT/GE Resources
For more information about reporting year 2026, see the following resources available on our FVT/GE knowledge base:
- Student Level Reporting Specifications
- Student Level Report Errors & Warnings Resolution
- FVT/GE Reporting User Guide
- FVT/GE Frequently Asked Questions
Recommendations for Completing the Student Level Report for Reporting Year 2026
- Determine how your institution will proceed with the optional data fields (populate them or leave them blank)
- Ensure your designated school administrators, who are supporting your institution’s FVT/GE reporting, are aware that blank values are accepted for optional data fields only for reporting year 2026
- Do not alter the submission’s file layout. The optional fields must be included in your submission but can be left blank.
- Your institution can choose to populate the optional data fields where applicable. The submission can be uploaded via the FVT/GE dashboard once none, some, or all the optional fields are populated.
If you have questions or need assistance, please contact us at schoolops@studentclearinghouse.org.