W. Kent Barnds’ Post

According to National College Attainment Network (NCAN), 2024-25 FAFSA completion rates for HS seniors are down 40% compared to this time last year in 2023. The U.S. Dept. of Education, Federal Student Aid an Office of the U.S. Department of Education, Congress and The White House need to take a more aggressive action to address this FAFSA completion crisis, which will have knock-on effects on postsecondary enrollment, retention, and higher ed institution revenues. Since the 2020 pandemic and our economic recession, millions of students have decided to forgo higher education or were forced to stop-out due to financial concerns. This enrollment crisis impacts all Americans as we are losing a generation of brilliant minds who could have become our next doctors, engineers, nurses, teachers, accountants, pilots, civic leaders, lawyers, entrepreneurs, tech innovation leaders and much more. Equitable access to higher education should never be a partisan issue. A nation that does not prioritize the education of its citizens is morally bankrupt. Every legislator and government official bears responsibility for failing the American people, especially our youth and young adults, in accessing critical funding for the pursuit of higher education. May I propose a better solution to increase FAFSA submission rates? Publicly apologize to the American people on national TV and gift $5k to every student who enrolls/matriculates for Fall 2024. Disburse the funds as direct payments to students like HEERF was administered, after each college's add/drop deadline. Watch the FAFSA completion rates jump up drastically when you pair an apology with financial restitution. How about an even more audacious proposal? Take the steps named above AND replace all Federal Direct Loans (except Parent PLUS) for 2024-25 with a one-time grant of the same value for every student. It's unconscionable to have students take loans this year when our government failed to do its job. #FAFSA #FAFSAFastBreak #CollegeAdmissions #FinancialAid #HigherEducation

Have low-income and first-generation students been disproportionately impacted by the new FAFSA submission process? 🔍🔍🔍 It’s no secret that the new FAFSA process has been a mess. With completions down 40% over the last year, there’s a lot of questions surrounding access, equity, and what it all means for the future of college enrollment. This article takes a deeper dive into the data we know so far and attempts to address those questions. https://lnkd.in/eysjQx6j #FAFSA #mycollegecorner

While the rollout of the 2024-25 #FAFSA has been tumultuous, a new case study took a look at four states and their successful strategies to implement and employ FAFSA completion initiatives for the ongoing cycle. The case study, conducted by SHEEO (State Higher Education Executive Officers Association), selected Alabama, Illinois, Louisiana, and Minnesota as representative #HigherEducation state agencies that implemented successful #FAFSAsimplification strategies. Read our summary of the key findings: https://ow.ly/vnCW50Sqcwn

Student Success | How Colleges Are Bridging FAFSA Filing Gaps Financial stress is one of the top reasons students stop out of college, and recent challenges with FAFSA filing may have exacerbated the issue. To mitigate these obstacles, institutional leaders have established proactive strategies to ensure students can navigate the FAFSA. https://bit.ly/4eUq1un

According to the most recent data (from 3/15) from the National College Attainment Network (NCAN) FAFSA submissions are down 30.7% for students in the high school class of 2024 (vs. submissions from the class of 2023). This data from NCAN also found that: FAFSA submissions are down 45.9% in Tennessee and down 40.1% in California. In 0 states are FAFSA submissions up YoY (Ohio has the lowest decline at 19.3%). In terms of FAFSA submissions, Connecticut is leading the way with 44.1% of students having submitted the FAFSA. The "curve" is flattening out (as of January 5th YoY submissions were down 91%), but this still represents a large number of students who haven't submitted the FASFA.

The horrors of this year's disastrous FAFSA rollout still haunt many in their sleep, including the U.S. Department of Education. 💀🎓 They're still working on fixing glitches, but officials must also focus on next year's form, ⚠️ which is set to launch in just a few months. They face more pressure than ever to ensure it arrives on time and ready to use. ⌛ For that, they’re bringing in reinforcements. 🎓💼 Last month, the department appointed Jeremy Singer, the longtime president of the College Board, as its first-ever FAFSA executive adviser. Singer and his team from the College Board, including Chief Information Officer Jeff Olson, are joining through an Intergovernmental Personnel Act agreement to enhance FAFSA's systems and processes. Critics express concerns over potential conflicts of interest due to the College Board's ownership of the CSS Profile, 💪 a competitor to FAFSA. Despite reservations, the move aims to expedite improvements in FAFSA 🙌 amid ongoing challenges and regulatory changes. Will this move bring the much-needed relief to college applicants? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.👇 #FAFSA #FinancialAid #CollegeFunding #StudentLoans #HigherEducation #Scholarships #FAFSATips #CollegePrep #FAFSAHelp #PayingForCollege

The FAFSA Week of Action begins today! The FAFSA is the first step students should take to find college funding. Not only does this form determine eligibility for federal funding, but completing it can also impact state or institution aid eligibility. fafsa.gov

FAFSA submission rates remain significantly lower than last year's levels, with a 30.7% decline compared to the previous academic year. This decline includes students from mixed-status families who couldn’t submit their FAFSA because of a new update that requires a parent to create an FSA ID using their Social Security Number. During our recent webinar, 'FAFSA Overhaul: Solutions and Supports for Students,' the Senior Advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Education, Tyra Mariani, and Policy Analysts at The Education Trust, Sayda Martinez-Alvarado and Jessie Hernández-Reyes shared updates and short-term solutions to guide us and our members in supporting impacted students in getting their FAFSA submitted so they can access the funding they need to pursue higher education. We're grateful to our speakers for providing their invaluable insights, and as the administration works to address the challenge, we urge our Network to share this information so that no federal college aid is left on the table. For more policy updates and news, subscribe to our Policy Digest ➡️ bit.ly/edlocpolicydigest #WeAreEdLoC #FAFSA

I'm still very concerned about the impact of the #FAFSAFAIL of 2024. According to NCAN's FAFSA Tracker, the National FAFSA submission rates for high school seniors are down 23%, and completions are down 29% from last year. South Carolina is experiencing a 28% decrease in FAFSA completions from last year, with the largest differences among low-income, high-minority students. While Coastal Carolina University saw a slight increase of approximately 5% in FAFSA filings for newly admitted students, I'm still worried about those who haven't submitted a FAFSA yet. Our local public high schools have a filing rate of only 26%, which is 1% lower than the state's and 6% lower than the nation's filing rates. We're going back to the drawing board to see if we can find a way to encourage students to complete the FAFSA before summer break. I'm worried about how many students won't attend college because of issues with the FAFSA. The next few weeks should get interesting. #FAFSA #HigherEducation #CollegeAccess #financialaid #enrollmentmanagement #fafsasimplification

Check out our resident #FAFSA expert, Jennifer Murphy, Ph.D., NCC as she drops some FAFSA knowledge on Your Life Arizona. AZ students still have time to complete FAFSA and gain access to Federal Aid, like #PellGrants and Work Study funding. Students can simply text “Hi Benji” to 602-786-8171 to use our AI powered FAFSA Chatbot! #AskBenji