As per tradition, the National College Attainment Network (NCAN) uses the new year to examine how our blog posts from the prior year performed. In this article, we examine some posts you might have missed from 2024. As a reminder, all blog posts can be
found on this page.
NCAN was pleased to unveil our new State Policy Resource Center, a one stop shop for policy research, inspiration, and support for organizations working to advance college affordability through state policy. Whether you’re new to advocacy and seeking
tips for getting started or a seasoned pro looking for fresh statistics to bolster your case, we’ve got you! From new state-by-state analyses of the economic impact of college to issue briefs on effective state policies, this resource center is designed
to accelerate your impact, providing you with materials you can pick up and use in advocacy, and freeing you to spend your limited time on what matters most – building relationships. Learn more here.
As states seek answers to decreasing college enrollments within their public institutions, Minnesota is providing a blueprint for states to follow to try to reverse the trend. For the first time in 10 years, the state has introduced significant reforms
to make postsecondary education more affordable for its residents. These reforms include direct admissions, free college for students from families that earn less than $80,000, and universal FAFSA bill in the works. As state leaders look to find best
policy practices to advance equitable postsecondary access, NCAN hopes to uplift state policies and models like Minnesota’s that can inform and be replicated throughout the country. Read more in this blog.
In June of last year, NCAN, the Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC), and the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) hosted a first-of-its-kind Midwest FAFSA Summit in Chicago, IL. The three-day event convened around 150 college
access and financial aid experts, administrators, advocates, and policymakers, working tirelessly to improve Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) completion and college enrollment for students in the Midwest. The agenda covered a wide
range of topics related to FAFSA completion, from policy to communications to data. Read more in this blog.
NCAN and partners have been facilitating a fellowship program aimed at developing a cohort of college access and success programs to serve justice-impacted learners. The eight participating fellows have been working to develop a plan for growing their
organization’s impact to support students who are incarcerated and/or those who were enrolled in a prison education program and are reentering free society. Fellows have conducted a needs analysis and created an ecosystem map of their communities.
Read more in this blog.
The 2025-26 FAFSA is open, and NCAN has free social media images and messages for you to use as you work to bounce back from last year’s challenging FAFSA season. We have updated last summer’s #DoTheFAFSA campaign social media toolkit with additional
pre-drafted posts (in English and Spanish) and graphics for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, TikTok, and LinkedIn. You can use the posts as written or draft your own messages customized for and linked to your own FAFSA completion events and resources.
The toolkit is free to any organization for noncommercial use. Read more in this blog.
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