Access to higher education remains one of the most powerful pathways to economic mobility, yet students from low-income face significant barriers to college enrollment and completion. Despite possessing equal talent and potential, these students are far less likely to attend college and, once enrolled, encounter greater challenges in persisting to graduation. This opportunity gap not only limits individual potential but also constrains our collective economic prosperity.
Federal policy plays a critical role in leveling the playing field for students from all economic backgrounds. Through strategic investments in financial aid, support services, and institutional capacity, we can remove barriers that prevent talented students from accessing and completing higher education. When more students have the opportunity to develop their skills and knowledge, the benefits extend far beyond individual success—strengthening local communities, driving regional innovation, and fueling national economic growth. Creating educational opportunity is not just a matter of fairness; it's an economic imperative.
Policies to Create Opportunity for All Students
Realize the Promise of FAFSA Simplification
The FUTURE and FAFSA Simplification Acts dramatically streamlined the process of applying for federal student aid. FSA should continue improving the process by providing real-time results, allowing immediate
corrections, and continuing to beta test language and other improvements. NCAN is working to drive a national record in FAFSA completion in 2026.
At its peak, the max Pell Grant was worth more than 75% of the average cost of attendance at a four-year public university. Today, it covers less than 30%. Congress should restore the
max Pell Grant to 50% of this cost and tie it to inflation. Congress should also ensure the new Workforce Pell program does not risk the traditional Pell program’s solvency.
Federal Work-Study and the SEOG provide critical resources to help students afford college. Lawmakers should invest in SEOG, which provides grants to students with exceptional financial need, and reform
and invest in Federal Work-Study to better target funds to schools with the largest portions of students from low-income backgrounds.
Students should have clear info about the cost and payoff of a postsecondary education. Financial aid award letters can be difficult to decipher and vary from institution to institution. Congress should
require standardized terms and definitions for award letters and provide more detailed info about the ROI to help students make informed decisions.
The benefits of a postsecondary degree are profound, but not all students have equal access to education opportunities after high school. Congress should invest in programs and strategies proven to help
more students from historically underrepresented, low-income, and marginalized backgrounds attain a degree or credential.
TRIO, GEAR UP, and national and community service programs (such as AmeriCorps) play an important role in the college access and success movement. Support for these federal programs will help more students
engage with advisers and others who can help them navigate the path to and through a postsecondary education.
Food insecurity affects nearly one in four college students, creating barriers to academic success, degree attainment, and overall well-being. Federal policies should reduce bureaucracy by simplifying
the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) application and renewal process and provide emergency aid for unexpected challenges.
ED should ensure student loan counseling is consumer-tested with students and balances an informative process with one that does not create barriers to aid. Counseling provided to borrowers should include
the cumulative student loan debt accrued and should advise borrowers to not to take on more debt than their expected starting salary.
In early 2025, DOGE gained accesses to sensitive federal education and student aid data. At the same time, the Trump Administration moved to shrink and potentially close the US Department of Education while shifting key functions elsewhere. Major federal education research and data contracts were also canceled, threatening core data systems.
November 17, 2025: NCAN shared recommendations with
the US Department of Education (ED) regarding the implementation of Workforce Pell Grants and work that will be covered by the AHEAD negotiated rulemaking committee.
October 24, 2025: NCAN submitted public comment in response to Senate HELP Committee Chair Bill Cassidy's (R-LA) request for information on improving transparency in higher education and lowering costs for
students.
October 15, 2025: NCAN joined a comment letter signed
by 50 organizations in the Postsecondary Data Collaborative responding to the Department of Education's request for information on the redesign of the Institute for Education Sciences (IES)
September 17, 2025: NCAN endorsed a letter led
by
Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Cory Booker (D-NJ) opposing changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.
September 17, 2025: NCAN submitted public comment on the proposed changes to employer eligibility for Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
September 15, 2025: NCAN co-led a sign on letter joined by 88 organizations urging Congress to protect the Pell Grant in Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 and to offset the impact of inflation with an increase to the maximum award.
July 29, 2025: NCAN endorsed the College Transparency Act,
introduced by Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
June 6, 2025: NCAN joined a coalition letter led by the #DoublePellAlliance
and signed by over 170 organizations, calling on Congress to fully fund the Pell Grant and reject any cuts to student eligibility proposed in the budget reconciliation bill.
May 5, 2025: NCAN submitted public comment on proposed revisions to eligibility
for PSLF.
March 28, 2025: NCAN submitted comments on the
draft 2026-27 FAFSA.
March 19, 2025: NCAN joined a coalition letter led by the Student
Aid Alliance asking leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees to increase funding for key federal student aid programs for FY26 appropriations.
March 15, 2025: NCAN co-led a coalition letter signed by 101 organizations,
calling on Congress to avoid harmful cuts to the Pell Grant, federal student loans, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Medicaid during budget reconciliation, as these programs
provide crucial support for students pursuing a postsecondary degree, and in turn, strengthen our nation’s workforce and economy.
March 10, 2025: NCAN joined a coalition letter signed by 87 organizations in the
Postsecondary Data Collaborative, urging Congress to exercise its oversight authority to investigate and demand transparency regarding recent cuts to the IES and concerns about access to sensitive
student data.
February 26, 2025: NCAN co-led a coalition letter signed
by over 100 organizations calling on Congress to shore up funding for the Pell Grant, and prevent a shortfall, by using savings from the budget reconciliation act.
December 19, 2024: NCAN wrote a transition memo outlining our federal policy priorities for improving postsecondary education and training in the Trump Administration.
November 13, 2024: NCAN wrote a letter to the leaders of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce in support of the FAFSA Deadline Act.
November 4, 2024: NCAN joined a coalition letter signed by 112 organizations, calling on the Biden Administration to take executive action and use regulatory and sub-regulatory tools to improve the SNAP program for students and address food insecurity in higher education.
November 1, 2024: NCAN submitted appropriations requests to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, advocating for increased funding for the Pell Grant and Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) in the final FY25 appropriations bill.
October 31, 2024: NCAN joined a coalition letter led by the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) responding to a request for information from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) regarding its inaugural Data Users Conference.
September 25, 2024: NCAN joined a Student Aid Alliance
coalition letter sent to ED and the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB), advocating for robust funding increases for federal student aid programs in the FY26 budget proposal.
September 10, 2024: NCAN submitted public comment in response to ED's RFI regarding
ways to support the successful completion and submission of the 2025-26 FAFSA.
July 23, 2024: NCAN, in coalition with the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC),
the National Association of State Student Grant & Aid Programs (NASSGAP), and State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO), sent a
letter to ED expressing the need for the FAFSA to have full end-to-end
functionality when it is released for the 2025-26 cycle this year.
July 19, 2024: NCAN joined a coalition letter signed
by 49 organizations urging Congress to reject the proposed elimination of the Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students (Basic Needs Grant) Program and increase funding to $45 million for FY25.
July 5, 2024: NCAN joined a coalition letter signed
by 44 organizations in the Student Aid Alliance expressing concern to the House Committee on Appropriations about proposed funding cuts to Federal Work-Study and SEOG programs for FY25 and urging
Congress to increase funding levels for federal student aid programs.
June 28, 2024: NCAN submitted public comment on the ED's proposed rule
for the Postsecondary Student Success Grant (PSSG) program.
June 10, 2024: NCAN worked with NASFAA to organize a coalition letter signed
by 25 organizations urging ED to commit to an October 1 launch date for the 2025-26 FAFSA cycle.
May 31, 2024: NCAN submitted public comment on the FSA ID account creation
process for individuals without a social security number and provided suggestions to address and improve ongoing issues with the FAFSA.
May 24, 2024: NCAN submitted public comment on
ED's process to determine high-quality college completion programs and award PSSG for institutions of higher education.
May 23, 2024: NCAN joined a coalition letter signed
by 63 organizations asking Congress to increase SNAP funding for college students without cutting any existing benefits in this year’s Farm Bill reauthorization.
May 22, 2024: NCAN joined a coalition letter signed
by 97 organizations in the Double Pell Alliance advocating for increased investments in the Pell Grant program for FY25.
May 3, 2024: NCAN joined a coalition letter signed by
24 members of the Postsecondary Data Collaborative to ED, providing input and support for proposed changes to the 2024-25 through 2026-27 IPEDS data collection.
April 30, 2024: NCAN joined a coalition letter signed by
60 organizations asking Congress to increase funding for the Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) Program to $500 million for FY25.
April 26, 2024: NCAN submittedappropriations requests for FY25 to the leadership of the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations, Subcommittees on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education,
and Related Agencies.
April 22, 2024: NCAN joined a coalition letter signed
by 16 organizations asking Congress to appropriate at least $100 million for the PSSG program for FY25.
April 2, 2024: NCAN joined a coalition lettersigned
by 168 organizations urging Congress to address the growing crisis of hunger and food insecurity among students in higher education during Farm Bill reauthorization this year.
February 27, 2024: NCAN joined a coalition letter signed
by 70 organizations asking Congress to extend the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) with continued funding in the next appropriations legislation.
February 26, 2024: NCAN submitted public comment on the process
for FSA ID account creation for individuals without a Social Security number.
October 22, 2023: NCAN submitted public comment on
ED's final 2024-25 FAFSA.
October 13, 2023: NCAN and our partners wrote a letter to
the US Secretary of Education asking for a Better FAFSA release date to be announced as soon as possible.
September 19, 2023: NCAN signed a National Student Parent Month thank you letter to Senators Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Tom Carper (D-DE).
June 29, 2023: NCAN helped organize a coalition letter asking
Congress to protect the Pell Grant reserve.
June 27, 2023: NCAN joined a coalition letter signed
by over 22 national nonprofit organizations that work to advance educational equity in urging ED to rethink the proposed Third Party Serving (TPS) guidance.
May 15, 2023: NCAN joined a coalition letter signed by over 750 local, state, and national
organizations in urging Congress to reject cuts to non-defense discretionary appropriations.
April 25, 2023: NCAN submitted public comment on ED's
draft 2024-25 FAFSA.
March 31, 2023: NCAN submitted public comment on ED's updated
guidance on the definition, roles, and responsibilities of a TPS.
March 23, 2023: NCAN submitted an appropriations request for FY24 to the leadership
of the House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education.
March 22, 2023: NCAN joined a coalition letter to endorse the Pell
Grant Sustainability Act that would restore the grant’s automatic annual inflation adjustment to preserve its value over time.
March 22, 2023: NCAN joined a coalition letter expressing
support for the US Secretary of Education’s authority to set aside up to 0.5% of funds from certain Higher Education Act programs for data analysis, data collection, and rigorous evaluations.
February 17, 2023: NCAN joined a coalition letter to
respond to ED's RFI regarding the evaluation "set aside" funds from certain Higher Education Act programs that can be used for data analysis, collection, and evaluations.
February 10, 2023:NCAN provided comment to a ED RFI regarding public
transparency for "low-financial value" postsecondary programs.
January 2023:IHEP and Results for America developed recommendations,
with contributions from higher education experts, including NCAN's own Catherine Brown, to help inform ED's decision-making on using its evaluation set-aside authority for the FY22 Consolidated Appropriations
Act and maintained in the FY23 Consolidated Appropriations Act.
December 14, 2022:NASFAA and NCAN sent a letter to the White House
and ED requesting confirmation that the 2024-25 FAFSA will be ready on October 1, 2023.
December 13, 2022: NCAN joined a coalition letter urging
Congress to advance reforms to standardize financial aid award letters, through the Understanding the True Cost of College Act.
December 12, 2022: NCAN joined a coalition letter urging Congress
to pass necessary protections for Dreamers and DACA students.
November 28, 2022:NCAN joined a coalition letter urging Congress to
repeal the tax on Pell Grants when aid is applied to "non-tuition" costs such as college students' basic needs (food, housing, and child care).
November 21, 2022: NCAN resubmitted program funding requests for fiscal year 2023 to the US Senate and House Committees on Appropriations (Labor-HHS-Ed Subcommittees). Please see the requests
here:
House and
Senate.
November 8, 2022: NCAN joined a coalition letter to Congress requesting
an update to the federal student aid rules around Satisfactory Academic Progress, which can present a barrier to student persistence and completion.
November 4, 2022: NCAN joined a coalition request letter to
Congress to include college completion funding (PSSG) in appropriations for FY23.
September 30, 2022: NCAN submitted public comment on FSA's
2023-2027 strategic plan.
August 11, 2022: NCAN submitted public comment, in response to request,
on the demographic survey to be included in the 2023-24 FAFSA.
June 15, 2022: NCAN joined the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, TheDream.US, and many other partners in a
letter celebrating the 10th anniversary of DACA and calls for policymakers to pass legislation that includes
a path to citizenship for all “DREAMers.”
May 11, 2022: NCAN submitted program funding requests for FY23 to the US Senate Committee on Appropriations (Labor-HHS-Ed Subcommittee). Please see the overview of NCAN's requests
here.
April 21, 2022: NCAN submitted public comment on the 2023-24
FAFSA outlining areas of opportunity for increasing the usability and efficiency of the FAFSA.
April 13, 2022: NCAN joined an education community letter to Congress
requesting support and prioritization for the mental and behavioral health needs of students in higher education.
February 23, 2022: NCAN joined an education community letter to
the president that the FY23 budget request include significant investments for evidence-based college completion initiatives.
February 11, 2022: NCAN, NASFAA, and The Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS) - joined by a broad coalition of organizations - drafted a letter to
urge the administration to extend the FAFSA income verification waivers.
January 21, 2022: NCAN signed a joint letter of endorsement for
the Promoting Advancement for Transit Help to College Act, which would create grants for public transit providers to collaborate with institutions and increase access to transportation for students.
December 15, 2021: NCAN joined education and civil rights organizations in a letter to
colleges and universities urging an end to legacy preference admissions.
November 23, 2021: NCAN joined NASFAA, NACAC and NASSGAP in a letter to
ED and FSA to share feedback, and reports of technological challenges in the filing process, for the current FAFSA cycle.
September 30, 2021: NCAN signed onto a joint letter, with the Today's Students
Coalition, asking Congress to consider extending a variety of policies related to temporary benefits and flexibilities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic – including around FAFSA verification,
food insecurity, emergency aid, and broadband internet access.
September 24, 2021: NCAN responded to a ED RFI regarding the administration of
the PSLF program and considerations for operational improvements, borrower experiences, and other factors to improve access to PSLF.
September 20, 2021: NCAN signed onto a joint letter letter asking Congress to
expand access, for college students with demonstrated financial need, to critical food supports through the SNAP by passing the Enhanced Access To SNAP (EATS) Act of 2021 (H.R. 1919/S. 2515) and
the Student Food Security Act (H.R. 3100/S. 1569).
September 7, 2021: NCAN and the NASFAA sent a joint letter to US Secretary of
Education Miguel Cardona calling on ED to extend the current verification relief before the new FAFSA cycle opens October 1.
August 19, 2021: NCAN shared its recommendations for Congress
to address college affordability in the FY22 budget reconciliation process.
July 6, 2021: NCAN submitted comments in response to OMB's RFI
on "Methods and Leading Practices for Advancing Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through Government."
June 24, 2021: NCAN submitted outside witness testimony for FY22 appropriations
to the US Senate's Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (Committee on Appropriations).
March 2, 2021: NCAN wrote to US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona to
congratulate him on his confirmation and to offer recommendations for action to help close equity gaps in postsecondary attainment.
March 2, 2021: In collaboration with NASFAA, NCAN corresponded with US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona in a joint letter urging
his department to prioritize the implementation of changes to, and simplification of, the FAFSA process, as enacted into law late last year.
