Since Louisiana implemented a universal FAFSA policy during the 2017-18 academic year, other states have begun to follow their lead. Alabama and Texas are in their second academic year of the policy, Illinois is in their
third year, and, soon, California will be joining the group during the 2022-23 academic year. With these
states in various stages of the implementation process, NCAN asked leaders to look back and share the lessons they learned about how to best incorporate FAFSA completion as a high school graduation requirement.
Communication
Every state stressed the importance of communication around the policy rollout. The discussions fell largely into two buckets: communication with school officials and counselors and communication with the families and students who this requirement
directly impacts.
Alabama
During their first year of the policy in 2021-22, Alabama utilized two methods of communication: celebrating success consistently and raising student voices. The reasoning behind this approach was that seeing their
peers celebrating college accessibility via filing the FAFSA would make the process more attractive. While this tactic has been successful overall, Alabama Possible identified a goal of targeting
more specific audiences in their outreach this upcoming academic year, including to those who are more likely to opt out of completing a FAFSA.
Illinois
Some Illinoisans, most notably those from rural
Illinois, voiced distrust of the FAFSA and who would have access to their private financial information. This concern is a common one seen in most of the states. In an attempt to curb this distrust, the advice ISAC offered to other states was to approach
these students and families with empathy and understanding. Filing the FAFSA can be scary for students in myriad ways, and discussing these concerns in an open and unbiased way can help dispel some myths. Present the facts and support students through
their decisions was the advice offered by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission.
Texas
Communication regarding the rollout of the universal FAFSA
policy in Texas was a large gripe of some leaders in the state. Unfortunately, during the first year of the
policy’s existence, it was apparent that many counselors, parents, and students were unaware of the new requirement. This meant a lot of time was spent following up with families to help them understand what the FAFSA is and how the information on
the document is used. Offering advice to other states, NCAN’s contacts in Texas stressed that there is no such thing as “over-communication”: reoccurring media segments about the policy, FAQs for families, and having the requirement both in the school
handbook and on graduation plans are all good distribution mechanisms for getting the word out.
California
California is a unique case due to it being so early into their implementation process. Currently,
agencies and organizations in the state are trying to spread the word about the policy and best practices for FAFSA completion. For example, the
California Student Aid Commission has 48 regional workshops scheduled.
Opt-Out Waivers
To-date, all the states that have implemented universal
FAFSA policies include some mechanism for allowing students to “opt out” of completing the FAFSA by either signing a waiver themselves or having a parent or guardian sign a waiver. NCAN is pleased by this development, which is in-line with our recommendations. The opt-out process presents a very tricky line that practitioners must toe carefully. On the one hand, regulating the process in some way helps prevent mass opt-outs, which would run counter to the policy’s
goal of increasing FAFSA completions. On the other hand, providing access to waivers keeps the FAFSA requirement from putting too much pressure onto students who have well-founded reasons to opt out.
Alabama
Fortunately, Alabama Possible did not see any mass opt-outs in the first year of implementation, but the group, an NCAN member, is still wary of what could come in the second year. Alabama’s current plan of attack to address the issue is to
update their FAFSA dashboard for the upcoming academic year to include opt-out percentages. The hope is that this public transparency will motivate schools that historically
see high percentages of opt-outs to push for more FAFSA completion instead.
Illinois
The Illinois Student Aid Commission did, unfortunately, see some schools with significant number of opt-out waivers filed. In an attempt to address this, there has been targeted outreach. The conversations
ISAC hosts in these outreach efforts are typically around what the FAFSA is while emphasizing the power that increasing college accessibility through federal and state financial aid.
Texas
In
its first year of implementation, Texas decided not to open the waiver right away, hoping to avoid mass opt-outs, according to TxCAN. Unfortunately, the pressure to get FAFSAs completed sometimes resulted in a culture of counselors focusing on getting
the process done instead of being deliberate about advising during the process. The recommended best practice is to be intentional about outreach, talking to families who want to opt out, and hearing their concerns. Approaching those concerns with
empathy and facts can help students and families potentially change their minds about FAFSA completion.
California
In hopes of deterring mass opt-outs, opt-out numbers from each school will be public
information on California’s FAFSA completion dashboard. Student-Level Data
A standout category that each state mentioned was the necessity of having access to student-level FAFSA completion data.
The implementation of a universal FAFSA policy requires that schools are able to track students’ compliance. Without the ability to track, the requirement would be impossible to enforce. NCAN maintains a table of information about student-level FAFSA completion data sharing in the states. Funding
Every state, especially those whose universal FAFSA policies were not supported
with additional funding, also emphasized the importance of having access to resources and funds to support this effort. Alabama and Texas, both states having unfunded mandates, voiced interest in a communication campaign that could have been funded
that would have potentially facilitated a smoother implementation in each state.
Conclusion
As more and more states consider universal FAFSA policies to increase the number and percent of high
school seniors completing the FAFSA and, potentially, accessing financial aid, it is important to learn from the states who have already walked this path. NCAN is grateful to our partners in Alabama, California, Illinois, and Texas for sharing their
insights about implementation. NCAN will continue to publish tips and tricks for getting the most out of these policies.
Email to a Friend