By Bill DeBaun, Senior Director, Data and Strategic Initiatives
Reading time: Four minutes
States have taken all kinds of approaches to statewide Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) completion efforts in recent years. Different combinations of statewide access and attainment networks, state agencies, districts and schools, and
community-based organizations have all coordinated within states across the country to conduct outreach, provide FAFSA completion support, and ultimately connect more students with financial aid. Some states have passed mandates while others have
put rewards like free community college at the end of the FAFSA tunnel.
West Virginia is having a remarkable year for FAFSA completion and has mobilized students and families through coordinated FAFSA completion practice across the state. West Virginia’s success and approach deserve attention from more of its peers in the
field.
Despite not having a universal FAFSA policy, West Virginia has climbed the ranks nationally for FAFSA completion among high school seniors. As of May 2, the Mountain State sits 15th in the nation, with 49.8% of the Class of 2025 having completed
a FAFSA. West Virginia has been as high as 10th this cycle. Last year, the state never ranked higher than 17th and was at 19th by about June 30. That kind of improvement doesn't
happen by accident, especially given that climbing rungs gets harder the higher states move up the ladder.
So, what's driving the progress?
We reached out to partners at the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission (WVHEPC), and their answer was clear: It’s not a single initiative—it’s a well-coordinated ecosystem of support. Multiple interlocking
strategies, all aligned with the same goal, are what’s moving the needle. Here are some of those strategies.
Statewide FAFSA Events Embedded into Outreach Strategy
WVHEPC’s Divisions of Student Affairs and Financial Aid have co-led hundreds of FAFSA completion events statewide this year. These aren’t just scattershot efforts—they're coordinated, accessible, and intentionally aligned with student needs and school
calendars. Their event request system (cfwvconnect.com) makes it easy for schools and community groups to participate. Importantly, state agency staff lending a hand locally builds good will with school staff for other endeavors and increases capacity to serve students and families at events.
February 6 marked the second annual “WV FAFSA Day,” with over 50 locations hosting completion events. This focused effort helps normalize FAFSA as a milestone and gives it visibility beyond the school building. More than 50 K-12 schools and higher education
institutions participated in this year’s WV FAFSA Day.
The WV FAFSA Day website offers an event toolkit, event registration, and social media posts for school and organizations to use. The value here is reducing the amount of reinventing the wheelbeing done – every district or school needn’t necessarily be making social media collateral of its own.
To incentivize school-level ownership, West Virginia created the CFWV Champions of College Access and Success competition. Schools qualify by either meeting a 60% completion benchmark or improving
by five percentage points over the previous year. It’s a smart use of behavioral economics: set achievable, public goals and reward progress.
Notably, Tennessee operates a similar endeavor through its Tennessee FAFSA Challenge. In that state, there are two ways a high school can earn FAFSA Champion status:
Increase their Tennessee Promise applicant FAFSA completion rate by five percentage points or more compared to the previous academic year as of the Tennessee Promise FAFSA deadline
Have 90% or more of their Tennessee Promise applicants complete the FAFSA as of the Tennessee Promise FAFSA deadline
West Virginia students can enroll in text message nudging similar to what we’ve seen in other states like Arizona. The TXT 4 Success program sends timely, personalized messages about FAFSA and financial aid to seniors across the state. This low-cost, high-touch communication model helps close information gaps and nudge students to act.
Originally limited to WV GEAR UP schools, this program now reaches statewide and includes FAFSA completion as one of three requirements for seniors to earn special graduation honor cords.
It's a small but powerful piece of social signaling that reinforces college-going behaviors.
Counselor-Focused Data Sharing and Communication
West Virginia equips practitioners with timely, usable data. Through a data portal, counselors can track which students have completed, started, or not filed a FAFSA. Weekly emails to superintendents and counselors include school-level completion rates.
Through monthly statewide TEAMS calls hosted by the US Department of Education, WVHEPC delivers FAFSA updates, reminders, and resources directly to K-12 counselors.
None of these approaches is necessarily new to the field. That’s not a criticism, it’s an observation. Tennessee, for example, has put many of these puzzle pieces together for years (along with the Tennessee Promise).
But putting together all of the puzzle pieces above represents disciplined, collaborative practice from the WVHEPC and their partners. It’s K-12 and higher ed agencies pulling in the same direction. It’s facilitating tools and timely data for school counselors.
It’s events, texts, dashboards, and honor cords—all working together to create a FAFSA-supportive environment.
The result? More students completing the FAFSA and hopefully getting the financial aid they need to take their next, best step.
West Virginia shows that with coordinated effort and shared accountability, states can build a FAFSA culture—and move the needle in a real, measurable way. Other states can, and should, take notes.
Want to talk more about statewide approaches to FAFSA completion? Reach out to me at debaunb@ncan.org.
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