Bill DeBaun, Senior Director of Data and Strategic Services
Reading time: Five minutes
Connecticut has appeared on the National College Attainment Network (NCAN) blog frequently in recent weeks, largely due to its statewide efforts to improve Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) completion rates. First, we noted how Connecticut
was one of four states, along with Indiana, Nebraska, and Oklahoma, to adopt universal FAFSA legislatively toward the end of the spring legislative session. The class of 2024 will be the first graduating class to be subject to FAFSA completion as a graduation requirement (or to opt out of the requirement).
Next, we highlighted the CT FAFSA Challenge,
“a nine-month initiative where high schools across the state will be charged with boosting FAFSA completion rates for the class of 2023 relative to the class of 2022. The FAFSA Challenge will provide microgrants, trainings, and other resources to
eligible high schools serving students with high needs as a means of helping seniors access the financial aid they deserve to pursue a postsecondary education.”
Given these FAFSA-focused efforts, NCAN had the chance to talk with John Scianimanico, Director of Special Projects, and Ajit Gopalakrishnan, Chief Performance Officer, both at the Connecticut State Department of Education. What follows is a transcript
of our interview, lightly edited for length and clarity.
NCAN: From a state perspective, why pursue increased FAFSA completion as a policy goal? Where does FAFSA completion fit into the state’s broader educational aims?
CSDE: We know that FAFSA completion is highly correlated with postsecondary enrollment, and in a state where more than 70% of jobs will require some form of higher education, we saw this work as an effective tool to smoothen the path to two- and four-year
programs. One of the pillars of our work at the Connecticut State Department of Education is promoting educational equity and leveling the playing field for all students to succeed once they graduate from our K-12 system. By focusing on FAFSA completion,
we are aiming to expand postsecondary opportunities for our high-need students who may have previously considered this unattainable due to financial, knowledge, or generational barriers.
How would you categorize the success of the CT FAFSA Challenge so far? What has gone particularly well, and where is there room for improvement?
We are proud of this work. In our first year, our FAFSA Challenge cohort improved their collective FAFSA completion rate by four points, even as the rest of the country declined by a similar amount. In our second year, the program grew from 26 to 40 schools,
together improving their FAFSA completion rate by over eight points. This past year, we welcomed 57 schools into the program, and look forward to releasing the results in the coming months. We have found the tools for success to be:
Structured professional learning opportunities for school- and district-based staff, including trainings and spaces for peer-to-peer learning.
Frequent data sharing.
Incentives that motivate schools to ensure every student who is considering college as a next step to complete a FAFSA.
What is the future of the CT FAFSA Challenge? Given ARP funding will eventually run out, is the Challenge something the state is committed to maintaining? Expanding?
The CSDE has dedicated ARP funds to implement the FAFSA challenge for another year in 2023-24. This past session, the state legislature passed a new law requiring completion of the FAFSA for graduating from high school. In the coming months, the CSDE
will be considering the implementation of a school-level challenge when FAFSA completion is mandated.
What advice would you give to other states in terms of planning or implementation with regard to replicating the FAFSA challenge elsewhere?
Ensure that data are available and updated at least weekly if not daily.
Provide some tangible benefits for becoming part of a challenge (e.g., professional learning opportunity, community-of-practice, even a token stipend).
Establish goals for the schools that are substantial yet attainable.
Celebrate successes throughout the year and recognize accomplishments at the end of the year, including through media and press releases/press events.
Be intentional about facilitating sharing of ideas across schools.
How did the CT FAFSA Challenge focus on achieving more equitable levels of FAFSA completion across the state?
From the outset, we targeted this program to schools that historically served a large proportion of students living in poverty and had low FAFSA completion rates relative to the state average.
We know that students eligible for Free- or Reduced-Price Meals (FRPM), first-generation prospective college students, and Black and Latino students complete the FAFSA at lower rates than their peers, and wanted to focus our efforts on dedicating resources
and manpower towards these populations.
During the 2021-22 school year, we saw noticeable improvements among students eligible for FRPM, including a nearly seven percentage point increase statewide relative to the previous year.
How has Connecticut made the process of accessing student-level FAFSA completion data easier for district and school practitioners?
Through our partnership with the Office of Higher Education, the CSDE provides school districts with daily, student-level updates on FAFSA completion, enabling school leaders to identify which of their students have and have not completed the FAFSA. At
the same time, we also provide a public-facing FAFSA dashboard on EdSight that allows members of the broader school community to track the state’s and their school’s FAFSA progress on a week-to-week basis.
With the forthcoming Better FAFSA, what are the state’s plans for supporting the preparation of K-12 school counselors and higher education financial aid administrators?
The Better FAFSA will present new opportunities and challenges for FAFSA completion. In the coming year, we plan to run a fourth FAFSA Challenge that will expand the number of eligible schools that can participate. We are once again partnering with the
Connecticut RISE Network and a number of local and national organizations to provide relevant professional learning opportunities and resources for K-12 educators to seamlessly pivot to the new FAFSA. We plan to spend most of the fall laying this
groundwork so that come December and the new year, schools feel prepared in supporting students and their families.
Thank you very much to John and Ajit for their time interviewing with me and, more broadly, for their work in Connecticut to keep connecting students with financial aid and postsecondary opportunities.
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