Editorial Policy

Degree Sources publishes financial aid tools and educational content in a space where accuracy directly affects students' financial decisions. This page describes the standards we apply to everything we publish.

Source Hierarchy

We follow a strict order of authority when building tools and writing articles:

1. Primary federal sources — the Department of Education, Federal Student Aid, the Internal Revenue Service, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. These are the authoritative sources for financial aid formulas, eligibility rules, repayment-plan structures, and benefits calculations.
2. Federal data systems — the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), the College Scorecard, and the National Center for Education Statistics, for institutional and outcome data.
3. Institutional and regulatory documents — published financial aid handbooks, Federal Register notices, and Department of Education policy communications that announce or clarify rule changes.
4. Expert commentary — used for context only. We do not rely on commentary as the sole basis for a factual claim about aid amounts, eligibility, or formulas.

When sources conflict, we defer to the most recent official federal documentation. When a regulation is in transition, we note the current rule, the upcoming rule, and the effective date.

Fact-Checking

Calculator Formulas

Every calculator formula is verified against its official source documentation before publication. Major federal calculators (such as the EFC/SAI Calculator and the Loan Repayment Calculator) implement the published federal methodologies. Tool logic is reviewed when regulations change, when source data is refreshed, or when a discrepancy is reported.

Article Content

Factual claims in articles — dollar amounts, eligibility thresholds, deadlines — are traced to their source before publication. We do not publish statistics or specific figures without an identifiable source. When we cite an aid maximum (for example, a Pell Grant award limit), we reference the relevant award year.

Data Currency

Financial aid data changes on predictable cycles. Maximum awards, income protection allowances, interest rates, and benefit rates are typically updated annually. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational data is refreshed on a rolling schedule. We track these cycles and update affected tools and articles when new data is published.

Editorial Independence

Degree Sources earns revenue through affiliate partnerships with accredited schools and programs. These partnerships fund the Site. They do not influence editorial decisions.

• Tool results are formula-driven. Calculator outputs are determined by the user's inputs and the underlying formula. No advertiser can alter, weight, or otherwise influence what a tool returns.
• Article topics are chosen editorially. We cover what students need to know about financial aid. Coverage decisions are not driven by which schools are currently partners.
• Recommendations are merit-based. Any criteria we apply when describing types of programs or funding sources are published and consistent. We do not promote specific institutions in exchange for payment.

Affiliate relationships are disclosed on the Site. For more on how we fund this work, see the About page.

Corrections

If we publish an error — in an article, a tool calculation, or a data point — we correct it and note the correction. Substantive corrections (for example, a formula error that affected calculator output) are flagged on the affected page with a brief description of what changed and when.

If you find an error, please report it through our contact page. We take accuracy reports seriously and investigate every submission.

Review and Updates

We review tools and high-traffic articles on ongoing cycles aligned with federal financial aid award years. Additional reviews are triggered by:

• Changes to federal aid formulas, eligibility rules, or benefit rates
• New legislation affecting student aid
• Updates to federal data sets used by our tools
• Tax-table or poverty-guideline changes that affect aid calculations
• Errors identified through internal review or user reports

For tool-by-tool detail on data sources, formulas, and known limitations, see our Methodology.