By: Louisa Woodhouse, Senior Associate, Policy and Advocacy
Reading time: Two minutes
Over the last two years, with the support of the Joyce Foundation, the National College Attainment Network (NCAN) has been working closely with our Midwest members to advance college affordability through state policy. Across the country, the cost of college poses a major challenge for many students aiming to pursue and complete a postsecondary degree. This is particularly true in the Great Lakes states, where students, families, and policymakers are grappling with funding challenges, insufficient financial aid, and changing public perceptions of the value of a college degree.
This state-by-state landscape analysis examines the context, challenges, and opportunities for advancing college affordability goals in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. These findings are based on interviews with NCAN-member college access and success (CAS) program leaders in all six states.
Unsurprisingly, barriers to improving the affordability of higher education were shared by organizations across the Great Lakes states. Many programs cited goals to address overarching challenges, including:
Integrating postsecondary planningin middle and high school curricula, to improve students’ awareness of how to access aid to make college more affordable
Advocating for increased fundingfor state and institutional financial aid, which has grown particularly challenging in part due to the negative narratives surrounding the value of higher education
Combatting the national narrative that college is not worth it or lacks value
Addressing the aftermath of the rocky FAFSA rollout in 2023-2024 and the resulting distrust of the form and federal student aid application process
Across the board, CAS programs in the Midwest elevated a desire to deepen their engagement in state policy advocacy and coalition building, expand their capacity, and scale their program models.
The analysis highlights four key opportunities for addressing college affordability across the six states, which include:
Streamlining state financial aid application processes
Implementing universal FAFSA policies and/or support for FAFSA completion
Increasing access to school counselors and other advisors to provide support particularly during the financial aid application process, and
Improving data infrastructure
Curious to learn more about how program leaders and policy advocates in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin are working to make higher education more affordable? Check out the full report here.
Questions? Please reach out to Louisa Woodhouse, Senior Associate, Policy and Advocacy, at woodhouse@ncan.org, or Catherine Brown, Senior Director, Policy and Advocacy, at brownc@ncan.org.
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