As Valentine's Day approaches, it's a good time to celebrate some of the many wonderful attributes that make us love NCAN members.
Check out just a few recent examples of how strategic, creative, dedicated, and pioneering you are in helping more students succeed in postsecondary education. And we know this is just the tip of the iceberg!
❤️ Success Boston partnered with the Boston Public Schools and multiple nonprofits to produce BPS College & Career Month in October 2021.
They designed events and activities to encourage students at all grade levels — and their families — to begin planning for a passion-filled life after high school as early as possible. Read more from Next Gen Learning Challenges.
❤️ Berea College and On Point for Collegetalked with the Washington Post about how they help students with costs
that might otherwise derail their college enrollment, such as overnight lodging for campus visits, rides to and from campus, and dorm room deposits.
In Texas, the Rural Student Success Initiative supports rural county agricultural extension agents to help more local school students enroll in postsecondary education. Read more from Southwest FarmPress.
❤️ The Common App chatbot Oli texted 500,000 students in the high school class of 2021 twice a week every week as they worked on their college applications, considered their financial aid packages, chose where to enroll, and finished
enrollment tasks over the summer. Oli would say things like, "You're doing a really great job of taking action to pay for college. I’m really proud of you." Read more from EdSurge.
❤️ In 2021, with strong support from organizations such as Alabama Possible, the Alabama State Board of Education voted to add completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as a high school graduation requirement,
with an opt-out provision for students and families. Alabama was the fifth state to take this action, along with Louisiana, Illinois, Texas, and California. Read more from Yellowhammer News.
❤️ Not to be outdone, NCAN friends and members in Colorado including the Denver Scholarship Foundation released their own plan in January to raise FAFSA completion rates statewide. The report by 20 experts calls for nearly doubling the
FAFSA completion rate to 80%, from 45% — or to at least move into the top 10% of all states in the measure. Read more from Chalkbeat CO.
❤️ In response to the pandemic, college affordability expert and founding NCAN member uAspire is offering free virtual FAFSA events to students and families.
Topics include a FAFSA and CSS Profile walkthrough, next steps after FAFSA, financial aid offer review, and summer financial aid steps.
❤️ In Georgia, NCAN board member and Achieve Atlanta CEO Tina Fernandez wrote an op-ed about Georgia’s 5.8% drop in undergraduate enrollment. Her recommended strategies to address it included implementing universal FAFSA, better tools
to help students understand college match and fit, and breaking down silos between K-12 and higher education systems. Read more from the Atlanta Constitution-Journal.
❤️ To ensure postsecondary guidance doesn’t stop after high school, Baltimore City Public Schools has launched the Navigator Center, a free, online and in-person resource where
students and graduates ages 18-24 can access resources and meet with trained coaches for insightful guidance on college, the job market, internships, military service, and entrepreneurship. Read more from BCPS.
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