Category: What Works

By Lindsay Broderick, NCAN Staff Writer

A common question in the college access field is how to effectively engage parents and family members. Many parents of students served by NCAN members do not have a postsecondary degree or credential and are therefore unfamiliar with the steps of the college and financial aid application processes.

NCAN hosted a webinar in which presenters Rene Diaz and Alma Vargas of GEAR UP Chicago highlighted experience-based tips and strategies on how best to involve parents in their children’s postsecondary pursuit, specifically in the FAFSA completion process. NCAN members can view the archived webinar recording.

The presenters began by discussing general parent outreach strategies that can be used during different stages of the college access process. Díaz said the key is to “be where parents are,” which can take a variety of forms.

• Be present and visible at open houses, parent-teacher conferences, school day drop-off/pick-up, sporting events, and plays. Set up a table and put information about the college application process and FAFSA completion directly in parents’ hands.
• Get to know school-based parent councils or committees. These parents are leaders in the school community, have relationships with other parents you are trying to reach, and can help disseminate your message and materials.
• Work with community-based organizations. Families may already have a relationship with organizations such as places of worship, social service organizations, and public libraries. These organizations are often closer to the community and have deep cultural understanding and insight. Holding events at these locations may be less intimidating and more convenient.
• Make phone calls. Diaz cautions against the use of robocalls. She favors personalized calls made by an actual person who can tailor a conversation with specific information.

The next segment of the webinar described ways college access practitioners can build relationships with families. The overarching theme of this segment was to be inviting, relatable, and friendly.

• Smile, and appreciate parents. Thank them for taking the time to attend an event. Help parents who are nervous feel comfortable and welcomed.
• Acknowledge parents’ expertise and experience. Although not all parents understand the college application and financial aid processes, they do have experiences and knowledge to share. Find a way to identify, recognize, and value their input.
• Communicate constantly. Keep parents informed via text, emails, and/or phone calls, depending on the preferred method of communication. This shows parents they have support and will help them keep their child on track.
• Understand your community. Translate printed information into the language(s) spoken by local parents. Schedule events during the evening and on the weekends. Provide transportation or vouchers. Offer child care and food.
• Schedule one-on-one meetings. This allows parents to voice concerns and ask questions in a safe environment. Also schedule meetings where both the parent(s) and student will be present to ensure everyone is on the same page.
• Maintain confidentiality. This will help engender trust and strengthen relationships.

The presenters also discussed the elements they include in every college access workshop they host for parents and families.

• Fun. Start each event with icebreakers to create a friendly, welcoming, and open environment.
• Participation. Create an environment where parents feel comfortable participating. Try breaking parents into smaller groups based on the profiles of their child – this will encourage conversation and allow the facilitator to target the presentation to the needs of the audience.
• Clear takeaways. Strive to make sure that every parent takes away something of value.
• Relationship building. If parents like you, then they’re more likely to come back!

During the last segment of the webinar, Diaz and Vargas spoke more specifically about engaging parents and families in financial aid and FAFSA completion activities. Here are 11 keys to cultivating parental involvement.

• Build capacity. Make sure anyone who presents information on FAFSA completion has adequate training and is knowledgeable about the topic.
• Start early. Begin holding financial aid events in middle school if possible. The sooner parents are introduced to the significance of financial aid to their child’s postsecondary success, the more they can learn.
• Coordinate with school personnel. Make sure they understand the importance of FAFSA completion and support/echo these efforts.
• Make the FAFSA completion campaign visible. This can be done through bulletin boards, college banners, etc.
• Conduct information sessions first. Then move to events where you’re actually facilitating FAFSA completion.
• Introduce financial aid terminology. This should include terms such as cost of attendance, scholarships, loans, work study, tuition and fees, etc.
• Conduct multiple sessions. Host events at a variety of times so all parents are informed about what documents are needed to complete the FAFSA, have created an FSA ID, understand FAFSA eligibility, and are familiar with award letters.
• Conduct one-on-one meetings. Once parents understand the financial aid process, schedule one-on-one meetings so they can ask questions confidentially, get assistance completing the FAFSA, and receive advice on reviewing and assessing financial aid award letters, and determining whether financial aid package is sufficient.
• Use online tools. One example is the FAFSA4caster from FSA.
• Address key topics. Make sure parents understand:
  • A postsecondary education is a long-term investment with many positive impacts on the individual student, his/her family, and the community.
  • How to prepare to financially support their student throughout his/her postsecondary career.
  • The importance of completing the FAFSA and the relationship between FAFSA completion and postsecondary enrollment.
• Have parents and students work together. This will help equip students to complete the FAFSA on their own during the following year(s).

Parents are an integral part of a child’s life, and having them on board and educated about the financial aid application processes will make it significantly easier. We encourage you to try some of these strategies to increase engagement with the parents in your community.

By Allie Ciaramella, former NCAN Communications Manager

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is notorious for its infuriating complexity, mind-numbing antiquity, and undeniable importance to would-be college students. As the gateway to not only federal support including Pell Grants but also many state and institutional funds, the FAFSA is the key to college access for millions of low-income students each year.

A lesser-known aspect of the form is its relationship to college success. But advocates for higher education like philanthropist Bill Gates, whose foundation is a major supporter of NCAN’s work to simplify the FAFSA, are well aware that the not-so-simple act of filing the form can have life-changing consequences for Americans nationwide. That’s why Gates is explaining his intent focus on identifying ways to #FixFAFSA to help more low-income and first-generation students access and succeed in postsecondary education.

The connection between FAFSA-filing and college enrollment is clear – and strong: Students who apply for federal aid are 64 percent more likely to enroll in postsecondary education directly after high school than those who don’t apply. Once on a campus, FAFSA completers are 72 percent more likely than their non-completing peers to persist in college.

Although the impact of FAFSA completion on the ultimate indicator of postsecondary success – completion – is less clear, students cannot obtain a degree if they fail to persist or even enroll. So it stands to reason that simplifying the federal aid application so more students complete it can only have positive effects on the educational attainment and economic success of the nation’s workforce.

This is not an abstract concept. Just ask Candace Chambers, a U.S. Department of Agriculture employee who said filing the FAFSA got her the aid she needed to finish a degree in four years. Or Samps Taylor, a sophomore studying instrumental performance at Alcorn State University, who calls financial aid “the lifeline for what I’m doing.” Or Camryn Pollard, a freshman at the College of Wooster who plans to become an FBI agent and says that “filling out the FAFSA was the greatest thing I could ever do.”

These students were fortunate to have support from NCAN members Woodward Hines Education Foundation, the Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance, and College Now Greater Cleveland. Hundreds of thousands of low-income students who must fend for themselves fall victim each year to “the leaky FAFSA pipeline.” Among those who do manage to get the information they need to complete the form, NCAN estimates that half are flagged for verification and 25 percent of those selected go on to be thwarted by the overly burdensome process, which disproportionately affects the low-income students who need aid most by requiring them to submit extra paperwork to prove – yet again – that their financial situation warrants the money to which they’re entitled.

There are ideas for fixing FAFSA. In a Gates Foundation video, experts suggest eliminating unnecessary questions, making the process applicable for all students including part-time and returning ones at different institution types, and utilizing information the federal government already has so applicants don’t have to provide it repeatedly.

“Simplifying financial aid means that we as access advisors spend far less time talking about process,” NCAN Executive Director Kim Cook says in the video, “and far more time actually advising students about what their careers will look like in the future.”

In 2016, the percentage of APS students who had completed the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) the previous year was 51%. Reflecting the national trend, APS students and their families were leaving valuable federal aid on the table, which made their transition from high school to post-secondary study that much harder. For many families, college was simply out of reach for financial reasons.

In response, Achieve Atlanta made it a priority to improve FAFSA completion rates among Atlanta Public Schools students, believing that in addition to the obvious financial benefits, the experience of completing the FAFSA might build momentum to successfully navigate the path to college. At the beginning of the 2016-17 school year, Achieve Atlanta engaged in a series of deliberate action steps aimed at driving FAFSA completion among that year’s Senior class. The positive results were striking, as almost 300 more families completed the FAFSA than the year before, boosting the previously stagnant completion percentage by 10 points.

Please download the pdf for the complete article.

By guest bloggers Diane Cheng, Research Director at The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS), and Erica Rose, Senior Director of Programs, Massachusetts, at uAspire

Affordability is a key issue for many students and families when choosing which colleges to apply to and attend, but the financial aid process can seem overwhelming. At the recent NCAN conference in Pittsburgh, TICAS and uAspire shared specific ways that counselors can help students and families approach the issue of college affordability and understand their financial aid options.

Here are a few of the tips and tools we shared:

1. The Financial Aid Toolkit from the U.S. Department of Education is an online “one-stop shop” for counselors, with information about financial aid and a searchable database of resources – including resources in Spanish and information for parents.
2. To help decide where to apply, students and families can use the Education Department’s College Scorecard, an online college comparison tool with data on costs, graduation rates, debt, post-college earnings, and more.
3. To look past sticker price and get early, individualized estimates of financial aid, students can use net price calculators. These online tools are required to be on almost all college websites, and can help students start thinking about affordability early in their college search.
4. Students and parents can now fill out the FAFSA on their phones, using FAFSA.gov or the myStudentAid mobile app. However, certain functionality is only available on FAFSA.gov and not currently available on the mobile app (e.g., access for undocumented parents who can’t get an FSA ID, and students’ ability to view their Student Aid Report or make corrections to their FAFSA).
5. Since students can now start filling out the FAFSA on Oct. 1 each year, they should start building college lists during their junior year. Those lists should include colleges that students know they have a good chance of being accepted to and can afford. Students should also fight the urge to make a deposit before receiving and reviewing all award letters – wait until National College Decision Day (May 1)!
6. When filling out the FAFSA, students and parents should use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) to electronically transfer their tax data into the FAFSA. This tool helps simplify and shorten the FAFSA process as well as reduce how much documentation students have to provide if they are selected for verification.
7. Students are not done with the financial aid process after they complete the FAFSA! Some will be selected for verification and required to submit additional documentation to colleges before they can receive financial aid. Counselors can help by having students request IRS documentation early (tax transcripts if they or their parents filed taxes, and verification of non-filing if they didn’t file taxes), making sure they keep an eye out for verification, and reassuring them that being selected doesn’t mean they did anything wrong!
8. Our research has found that many financial aid award letters are inconsistent, confusing, or misleading to students. Counselors can help by providing a glossary of terms, analyzing and comparing award letters with students and families, and brokering communication with colleges. See more tips here.
9. When reviewing estimated bills, students should consider savings, tuition payment plans, summer work, and outside scholarships before considering loans. If they need to borrow, they should turn to federal loans first, which guarantee consumer protections and repayment options that private loans do not.
10. For information about student loans, check out TICAS’ resources on projectonstudentdebt.org and the Education Department’s resources on StudentAid.gov and YouTube. The Education Department also offers an online repayment estimator that can help students see how expected borrowing translates into monthly payments and understand the range of repayment plans available for federal student loans (including some plans where payments can be as low as $0).

For more tips, see our handout from the conference.