Dive Brief:

• All 111 of the colleges accused by a Maryland Congressman of misleading students about the requirements for receiving federal financial aid have been cleared.

• Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) said in a letter to Education Secretary Arne Duncan that the colleges had made changes to their websites to clarify that students are not required to submit forms other than the Free Application for Federal Student Aid to receive federal grants or loans.

• Cummings had accused the colleges of requiring fee-based forms, such as the CSS Profile, or insinuating that such forms were required, to apply for federal aid.

Dive Insight:

Many of the colleges on the list had reported making changes to their websites within a few days of Cummings taking his accusations to the education secretary in February. And administrators at many of the colleges felt blindsided by the public pronouncement that they may be in violation of federal law. At issue is the CSS Profile, which institutions use to consider their own financial aid awards. It costs $25 for the first college’s application and $16 for subsequent applications, and critics say the form can prevent low-income families from applying for financial aid.