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How NCAN Members are Increasing College Affordability Through State Policy & Advocacy

While federal activity tends to dominate the news cycle these days, state-level advocacy remains a critical vehicle for policy change – particularly when it comes to increasing the access and affordability of postsecondary education. With ongoing uncertainty about the annual budget appropriations process in Washington, and recent cuts to federal funding for key education and social welfare programs, the focus will soon shift to the states as they begin their own legislative sessions for the coming fiscal year.

Whether you are brand new to higher education policy and advocacy, a seasoned expert, or somewhere in between, there are many steps you can take to advocate for the policies and funding that increase postsecondary attainment and affordability. Read on to learn more about how to lay the groundwork for successful policy change in your state, and learn from National College Attainment Network (NCAN) members who have turned advocacy into impact, securing new investments, building new grant programs, and leading broad coalitions to make higher education more affordable for students and families.

1Organize a Coalition

Teaming up with other organizations who share your policy goals will help expand your reach, pool your resources, and work more efficiently to realize change.

Why it Works: Coalition building is an important part of any state-level advocacy initiative and an essential for smaller organizations, or those without extensive capacity for policy advocacy. In forming a coalition, you not only build strength in numbers, but also benefit from expanded expertise, increased visibility, and greater political clout. Through partnering with other organizations, and in some cases, across industries, you make a stronger case for your advocacy asks.

    

NCAN Accordion
Tips for Success
  • Convene key constituents: When constructing a coalition, think carefully about your policy goal, the relevant parties, and the policymakers who have the most sway on the issue. Which organizations or individuals in your network have connections to the relevant legislators? Do you have constituent voices represented? What about students? A diverse coalition will help your issue gain traction and broaden the impact of your advocacy.
  • Consider your strengths (and weaknesses): Do you have a data analyst on your team? What about a communications specialist or a seasoned advocate? Think through the skills and experiences that each organization brings to the coalition. A well-rounded coalition will be better positioned to engage in successful advocacy.
Examples from NCAN and Other Advocates

2

Clarify Your Asks

Refining your message will help focus your work and make your priorities clearer for policymakers.

Why it Works: Specific, well-researched asks are the bedrock of effective advocacy. To win the support of policymakers, you will need a comprehensive understanding of the issue at hand and most importantly, a clear idea for a solution. Each legislative session, state policymakers and their staff juggle dozens of proposals. By doing your homework, and clarifying your ask, you can help your request stand out.

    

NCAN Accordion – Funding & Evidence
Tips for Success
  • Keep it simple: Create a one-page list of your requests that you can leave behind when meeting with policymakers. See below for an example.
  • Focus on funding: There are many ways to impact the higher education affordability landscape, but the simplest place to begin is with a request for funding. Investing in postsecondary education, whether through the operating budget for your state’s public university system or need-based grant aid, can directly expand opportunity and access, particularly for low-income and first-generation collegegoers. That said, it’s important to know your audience, think through framing, and keep your asks realistic. In a tight budget environment, you’ll want to emphasize the economic value or the return on investment resulting from postsecondary attainment. Remember that sometimes level funding is a victory for students.  
  • Back up your asks with evidence: Use data and storytelling to demonstrate the impact of a certain policy or funding stream, or to illustrate the current issues facing students and families. Research and data are a great way to make your pitch clear and compelling. When meeting with the office of your state legislator, bring fact sheets, landscape analyses, or student stories to help ground your conversation and make your case.
Examples from NCAN and Other Advocates

Build a Relationship with Policymakers & Staff

Strong personal relationships are crucial to successful policy advocacy.

Why it Works: When policymakers and staff know you and your organization, as a credible, consistent voice, they’re more likely to be responsive to your asks, seek your input, and champion your policy priorities. Strong relationships position you not just as an advocate with an ask, but as a trusted resource with valuable insight, and a key player in conversations about college access and affordability. These connections can also help you stay informed about upcoming policy decisions, and ensure your priorities remain visible beyond a single legislative session.

  

NCAN Accordion – Advocacy & Engagement
Tips for Success
  • Meet with your state legislators: There are many ways to advocate, but nothing beats a one-on-one meeting with your elected officials, or more likely, their staff. If you’re just getting started, you’ll want to reach out to your own state legislators, and those who represent your students. Then, see which policymakers lead the education authorizing or appropriations committees. (These are the committees that set and fund policies, respectively.) Committee and party leadership will have the most influence when it comes to increasing affordability.
  • Coordinate an advocacy day: While an advocacy day in your state capital is undoubtedly a significant undertaking, the impact is worth the effort. Bringing together key stakeholders to educate elected officials and advocate for an aligned policy agenda is a great way to bring visibility to an issue. Include a wide variety of constituents, and center student voices. Students will be your most effective messengers.
Examples from NCAN and Other Advocates

4

Raise Awareness

Increasing the visibility of the problem you are trying to solve, and public demand for your proposed solution to help create a fertile ground for change.

Why it Works: Building public support or demand for a policy change will help your advocacy at the state house. Policymakers are more likely to respond when they hear about a priority from multiple sources. Public engagement is especially powerful during key moments in the legislative or budget cycle, when attention to education policy and funding is highest. Not only does this help build momentum for action, it also reinforces your credibility as a trusted voice representing real students, families, and communities in your state or district.

    

NCAN Accordion – Funding & Evidence
Tips for Success
  • Use social media: Share data points, student stories, and other brief anecdotes to help elevate awareness of the issue you are trying to solve, and how your proposal would have a meaningful impact. Infographics and charts can help illustrate the problem and solution in a way that is easy to understand. Tag your coalition partners, relevant organizations, and even your legislators to draw attention to your work.
  • Engage the press: State and local media can also be a powerful tool to amplify your message. Timely op-eds, letters to the editor, or interviews in the newspaper or on the radio can help expand your reach beyond your immediate network. For best impact, keep your message clear, concise, and solutions oriented. (And if you do place an op-ed, share it on social media!) 
Examples from NCAN and Other Advocates

5Follow Up

Effective advocacy requires consistency and follow through to keep the attention on your policy priorities.

Why it Works: Policy change takes time. Strategic advocacy can sometimes feel more like a marathon than a sprint. While your advocacy during one legislative session may not lead to your goal outcome, (like the passing of a bill or a funding increase for your state grant program) your efforts will lay the groundwork for future budget cycles. Staying consistent with your outreach to policymakers and continuing to build public support for your proposal will help ensure that your issue remains on the radar screen of state legislators—increasing the likelihood of policy movement in future years.

  

NCAN Accordion – Funding & Evidence
Tips for Success
  • Be persistent: Keep attention on your ask or issue by elevating your work and sharing your progress. Following an intro meeting with an elected official, stay in touch by sharing new resources or relevant data, or even inviting them to events. This will help strengthen your relationship and reaffirm for your policymakers that you and your organization are trusted sources when it comes to addressing the landscape of postsecondary affordability. Consistent outreach will keep the door open for conversations about your key policy priorities.
  • Stay focused: There is lots of work to be done when it comes to increasing postsecondary attainment and making college more affordable. While it can be tempting to shift your attention away from your initial ask, staying on message will help build awareness for the issue and why it matters. Target your advocacy to the issues where you have the greatest opportunity impact. 
Examples from NCAN and Other Advocates

These five strategies will set you on a path to successful policy change – and NCAN is here to help! Questions? 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.