NCAN Archives - Form Your Future

Large-Scale Efforts to Boost FAFSA Completion Are Happening Across the Country

Posted on May 27, 2020May 27, 2020 by Kelly Mae Ross

By MorraLee Keller, Director of Technical Assistance, National College Attainment Network

It’s a fact: As of the end of April, FAFSA completion numbers are behind compared to the same time last year. Completions by high school seniors and renewals from currently enrolled students are both lagging. Even more devastating is that we’re seeing the largest declines among Pell Grant-eligible students.

The gaps have grown dramatically since March, when college and K-12 education was interrupted by COVID-19. A concerted effort is needed to reverse these trends and keep students on track for enrolling in college this fall.

College access programs and school counselors had to make an abrupt shift to virtual advising in March, with a focus on seniors and completing all the critical steps for a transition to postsecondary education and/or the workforce. Advisers and counselors continue to provide individual assistance to students and families that still need to complete a FAFSA. However, it is going to take large-scale FAFSA assistance efforts to pick up these dropping numbers.

NCAN has identified a number of these efforts, which we encourage students and families to take advantage of. We also urge all states to continue or develop FAFSA completion supports.

National Resources and Efforts

Federal Student Aid: For general information about federal student financial assistance programs, help completing the FAFSA, and to obtain federal student aid publications, call 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243). The TDD number for hearing-impaired individuals is 1-800-730-8913. Help is also available on the FSA website.

College Board, in partnership with Benefits Data Trust: These organizations developed a chatbot to help with FAFSA completion. It is available to high school seniors, current college students, and adult learners. Students must text to begin the service.

State Resources and Efforts

Arizona: Benji is a chabot available to help students and families with FAFSA completion.

Hawaii: Hawaii P-20 will start a “Next Steps to Your Future” summer advising campaign. Students will receive customized text messages from a dedicated adviser to assist with college/career transition. The state has also set up a FAFSA email hotline: FAFSA@hawaii.edu.

Illinois: Illinois Student Assistance Commission is providing free virtual college planning and financial aid advising and operates a free text helpline.

Indiana: Learn More Indiana is conducting a senior survey. Depending on student responses, information is being distributed to various agencies to provide support for transition after high school. Indiana also extended the state grant application deadline beyond April 15 for as long as funding exists.

Iowa: Iowa College Access Network (ICAN) continues to offer services via phone and virtual appointments via Zoom, Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Iowa is also administering a statewide texting campaign to seniors.

Louisiana: The Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance (LOSFA) is offering virtual office hours to assist people with questions about the FAFSA and state financial aid programs.

Michigan: Michigan College Access Network (MCAN) launched a free college advising hotline for high school seniors earlier this month and plans to run it at least through mid-June, possibly throughout the summer. It is being staffed by AmeriCorps advisers and supervised by MCAN staff.

Mississippi: Get2College staff members are available for virtual and telephone appointments to help Mississippi students and families. Students may contact the offices or go online to schedule an appointment. A live chat is also available online during business hours.

Nebraska: EducationQuest Foundation staff are available to help students through the college planning and financial aid processes. Students should call the nearest office to set up an online or phone appointment. Help is also available in Spanish.

New Hampshire: The NHHEAF Network’s Center for College Planning (CCP) continues to help all New Hampshire students with filing the 2020-21 FAFSA via virtual counseling appointments. To schedule an appointment with a college outreach specialist, call (888) 747-2382, ext. 119, or email collegeplanning@nhheaf.org.

Rhode Island: The College Crusade of Rhode Island will open its FAFSA completion assistance to any high school senior in the state. All appointments will take place virtually. To schedule an appointment with a College Crusade adviser, email fafsa@thecollegecrusade.org or text the word FAFSA to 95577.

Washington: Otterbot is a free texting service designed to help Washington students navigate financial aid for college and career education. Students can access Otterbot via text message 24 hours a day, seven days a week by texting “Hi Otter” to 360-928-7281.

NCAN will continue to search for resources to support our members and their students.

If your state has a current large-scale FAFSA completion effort underway, we would like to add it to this resource list. Please send a brief description and any appropriate web links to MorraLee Keller, kellerm@ncan.org.

(Photo by Qim Manifester on Unsplash)

5 Cities Receive Awards for 2018-19 FAFSA Completion Challenge Efforts

Posted on September 24, 2019 by Kelly Mae Ross

By Sara Melnick, Deputy Director, National College Access Network

The National College Access Network announced the winners of the 2018-19 FAFSA Completion Challenge last week at the 2019 NCAN National Conference Indianapolis. Out of the more than two dozen U.S. cities that participated in the Challenge, five received awards for their outstanding efforts.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) effectively serves as the gateway to higher education for millions of students each academic year. But the complex and extensive nature of the FAFSA deters some students from applying for the financial aid for which they would otherwise qualify.

In an effort to boost FAFSA completion rates across the country, NCAN selected 25 U.S. cities to receive a grant of up to $40,000 each for the 2018-19 FAFSA Completion Challenge. This work was led by a mix of school districts, postsecondary institutions, community-based organizations, and foundations.

NCAN challenged each of the grant recipients to increase their FAFSA completion rates by at least 5 percentage points for the graduating high school class of 2019. In an effort to address equity gaps, this Challenge specifically focused on cities with baseline FAFSA completion rates below the national average.

This project was generously funded by The Kresge Foundation and Ascendium Education Group.

Grand Prize – Mesa Public Schools (Mesa, AZ)

The grand prize winner of the 2018-19 FAFSA Completion Challenge is Arizona’s Mesa Public Schools.

Mesa implemented several creative strategies to help more of its students file the FAFSA. The district used student-level completion data to strategically target non-completers and invite them to smaller, more intimate FAFSA completion events and one-on-one sessions. Mesa also implemented a campaign to clarify and disseminate information about FAFSA completion, spreading the word though social and traditional media, a website, flyers, and the school’s messaging system.

But a major key to the district’s success was its use of peer coaches. These coaches were recruited by school staff to spread the word among their peers about FASFA completion, its importance, and where to get help with the financial aid application process. The coaches received extensive training and used data to target their peers who had not completed the FAFSA. They supported FAFSA completion events at their high schools, led information sessions at lunch, and used social media to get the word out.

As the grand prize winner, Mesa Public Schools received $100,000 to continue its FAFSA completion efforts.

First Runner-up – Denton Independent School District (Denton, TX)

Denton ISD also took a multi-pronged approach to its FAFSA completion work. Strong support from the district superintendent helped generate more buy-in for the work. And the district’s director of counseling was the point person for all FAFSA-related activities, making it easier to coordinate efforts throughout the schools. Denton provided each school a small sub-grant to spend on activities to boost FAFSA completion. These funds were often used for student incentives and prizes.

Another key to Denton’s success was to use grant dollars to hire a FAFSA expert to complement the work of the school counselors. This FAFSA expert had the knowledge and, more importantly, the time to address complex FAFSA situations and work one-on-one with students and families in a non-threatening environment. The school district deemed the work of the FAFSA expert so important that it will to continue to pay their salary for another school year.

As the first runner-up, Denton ISD received $25,000 to continue its FAFSA completion work.

Award for Excellence in Overcoming Barriers and Perseverance – Rochester Education Foundation (Rochester, NY)

Rochester was one of the only sites that did not have access to student-level FASFA completion data, despite the district’s best efforts to obtain these data from the state. On top of that, two partners that would have expanded the Rochester Education Foundation’s ability to help hard-to-reach students with FAFSA completion were unable to participate in the project.

But with these lemons, the Rochester Education Foundation (REF) made lemonade. Here are just a few ways the site demonstrated perseverance in the face of significant obstacles:

Rochester built a cadre of counselors who became personally invested in this work.
REF implemented many more school-based FAFSA completion events than originally planned (15), in addition to six community-based events.
REF capitalized on the strong existing relationships with institutions of higher education and added new partners during the year. These higher ed partners provided in-school advising and trained volunteers; one institution even provided on-the-spot admissions decisions.

In the end, REF estimates that 47% of all FAFSA completions in Rochester happened at one of its events.

As the recipient of the Overcome Barriers and Perseverance award, Rochester Education Foundation received $10,000 to support future FAFSA completion work.

Award for Excellence in Community-Based Leadership – Citizens for Educational Excellence (Corpus Christi, TX)

Citizens for Educational Excellence (CEE) is a local intermediary organization that is also the hub of several collaborative efforts in the area that focus on equity in postsecondary access, and workforce development.

One of CEE’s major accomplishments during the Challenge was facilitating deeper relationships between local postsecondary institutions and the school district, as well as formalizing CEE’s partnership with the school district. CEE had provided support to the schools around FAFSA completion in the past, but this grant facilitated deeper involvement with counselors, who came to appreciate that CCE was there to support them (and not to create extra work).

Other activities implemented as part of this project included monthly competitions and awards for schools with the highest completion rates in the district; using traditional and social media to disseminate information about the FAFSA to the entire community; awarding graduation cords to students who completed the FAFSA; and engaging high school students to disseminate information about the FAFSA to their peers.

As the winner of the Community-Based Leadership award, CEE received $10,000 to continue its FAFSA completion efforts.

Award for Excellence in Training and Professional Development – Utah Higher Education Assistance Authority (West Valley City, UT)

The Utah Higher Education Assistance Authority (UHEAA) is a state agency that has access to student-level FAFSA completion information and already does a great deal of outreach on FAFSA completion statewide. The challenge UHEAA faces throughout the state is that a fair number of high school seniors do not historically go right on to a postsecondary institution after graduation.

UHEAA used a variety of strategies to increase FAFSA completion rates, including outreach to students through social media and texting, engaging near-peers through the statewide advising corps, and providing student-level data to counselors and advising corps members so they could target non-completers through small group and one-on-one assistance. The organization enjoyed a strong partnership with local postsecondary institutions and the school district, and UHEAA provided all partners with regular communication that included project updates and progress, as well as information on relevant partner resources.

UHEAA also used its robust toolbox of training resources (videos, webinars, etc.) to train counselors and college access professionals on why and how to complete the FAFSA. The organization provided training to administrators, counselors, and teachers throughout the grant period. Counselors and college access personnel were trained to assist students through most straightforward FAFSA completion scenarios, but they also had access to help when they encountered more challenging situations.

As the recipient of the Training and Professional Development award, UHEAA received $10,000 to support future FAFSA completion work.

All five award-winning FAFSA Completion Challenge sites were actively engaged in the project and with NCAN throughout the grant year. They presented on their experiences during webinars, were active participants in the webinars when they weren’t presenting, agreed to be interviewed by evaluators and to share their stories for blog posts, and were always willing to offer insights and their challenges when asked.

The sites’ willingness to share best practices helped grow the power of the Challenge grants by spreading solutions to other cities around the country.

Read more about the Challenge on the Kresge Foundation website.

How Schools Engage Students to Help Increase FAFSA Completion

Posted on April 24, 2019April 24, 2019 by Kelly Mae Ross

By ASA Research

Last year, the National College Access Network selected 25 U.S. cities to participate in the 2018-19 FAFSA Completion Challenge. Through this project, generously funded by The Kresge Foundation and Ascendium Education Group, NCAN challenges each of the grant recipient cities to increase their FAFSA completion rates by at least 5 percentage points for the graduating high school class of 2019. In an effort to address equity gaps, this challenge specifically focuses on cities with current FAFSA completion rates below the national average.

ASA Research, the 2018-19 FAFSA Completion Challenge project evaluator, is monitoring the 25 sites’ activities and results throughout the grant and highlighting strategies of interest.

Through focus groups and interviews, we have heard much interest and excitement around peer strategies, whereby students provide encouragement or assistance to help other students complete the FAFSA. In some cases, peers are competing within or between schools and are offered financial incentives or rewards.

This blog post profiles various peer strategies employed by sites to provide information about how to implement peer strategies locally.

The Power of Peers

Several grantee sites credit peers as having a positive influence on FAFSA completion rates. For example:

Michael Garcia, director of opportunity and achievement at Mesa Public Schools (the site lead for Mesa, AZ) shared that he believes this strategy has been effective because students appreciate hearing about the FAFSA from their peers, who can “communicate with them on the same level.” He believes Mesa’s peer coaches are not only motivated by monetary rewards but also by “doing good and providing an important service” to help members of the community access college.
Sarah Piwinski, director of data management and analysis, Tri-County Cradle to Career Collaborative, the Charleston, SC lead, shared that it is encouraging for students to hear from their peers who completed the FAFSA, some of whom already have financial aid offers – this demonstrates to students not only the process but also the results.

Some examples of peer engagement models follow.

Ambassadors

Recruiting student ambassadors to motivate other students to complete the FAFSA seems to be the most common peer model among grantee sites. Some examples include:

Fort Wayne: Counselors nominated five FAFSA ambassadors from each school. These students are typically seniors who are actively involved in student groups and hold leadership positions. Ambassadors motivate their peers to complete the FAFSA and are incentivized through both between and within-school competitions and rewards such as gift cards.
San Diego: Schools are working with their associated student boards to lead a completion competition between schools of the same size. Each of their 18 schools has five student ambassadors who talk to students at lunch and encourage them to complete the FAFSA.
Baltimore: Counselors selected one student in each school to serve as a FAFSA ambassador. These students make classroom presentations to help spread the word about FAFSA completion.

Paid Peer Coaches

Mesa has 24 peer coaches (four at each school) who receive a stipend and scholarship incentive for encouraging and helping peers to take specific steps to complete the FAFSA. Mesa modeled its strategy in part after Phoenix’s peer model. (Phoenix was a 2016-17 FAFSA Completion Challenge grantee.) Additional details follow:

Selection and training: Counseling teams identified students – typically, seniors planning to attend college who are “influencers” in their peer groups and/or strong communicators, savvy with social media and, preferably, multilingual. Nominees submitted brief YouTube video applications, and those selected attend events and monthly trainings throughout the year.
Role: Peer coaches help students create FSA IDs, but do not handle any financially sensitive information. In cases where a peer coach cannot answer a question or encounters a difficult situation, the student/family is referred to the site partners, including the local college access network.
Rewards: In addition to a stipend, the site awards $25 gift card incentives to peer coaches who reach specific milestones (see below):

Mesa’s 5 Milestones for Peer Coach Incentives

1. Make contact/collect data on whether students are going to college.
2. Help students prepare to complete college applications.
3. Get students an FSA ID, confirm that they or their parents created the ID. (This is the first payment milestone for which coaches are rewarded $25 for every 15 students. One student has already received $400 for this milestone.)
4. Confirm submission of FAFSA.
5. Confirm completion. (This is the second payment milestone.)

Success: Mesa’s peer coaches are excited to be involved and take the initiative to brainstorm creative strategies such as classroom presentations. One student convinced an entire social studies department to incorporate FAFSA presentations in their classes. Garcia reports that six or seven coaches are “extremely active,” and he has observed a correlation between their level of activity and school results.

Near-Peer Strategies

In addition to peer strategies, some sites are employing near-peers (college students), for example:

San Diego hired eight college students as paid interns who give presentations and assist students with FAFSA completion in English and social studies classes.
At West Valley City, the Utah College Advising Corps provides two part-time college student employees who offer assistance at large events and in small group settings. They are provided with in-depth training about the FAFSA, college access, and various resources.

Emerging Strategies

In addition to ambassador strategies listed above, Vancouver has had success with two student ambassadors in one school, and is currently considering incentives to draw more participation. Other sites’ peer strategies include in-class assistance in Charleston, student club competitions in Corpus Christi, a Street Team in Baltimore, and poster contests in Baltimore and West Valley City. Some of these strategies are still in development but offer innovative approaches that we will be following as we track sites’ results throughout the grant.

For more information about the 2018-19 FAFSA Completion Challenge, please contact melnicks@collegeaccess.org.