Educators, advocates, Hill staffers, and students gathered in Washington, DC, earlier this month to learn more about efforts by the National College Access Network (NCAN) to simplify the Federal Application for Free Student Aid (FAFSA).
For example, on one track, once a student has confirmed that their family earns a means-tested benefit such as SNAP (food assistance) or TANF (cash assistance), they are automatically sent to the signature portion of the form.
Lawmakers in Utah are considering a pilot program to help low-income college students secure housing that’s both convenient and affordable.
The bill — sponsored by Republican state Rep. Mike Winder — would provide eligible students with a place to live near their college campus.
Residents would not have to dip into student loan funds to pay for housing. Instead the program would be largely supported by public funds and private donors.
A recent NACAC study confirmed that students who meet one-on-one with a school counselor are significantly more likely to attend college and apply for federal financial aid.
The effects of President Donald Trump’s most recent executive order are already being felt at high schools and colleges across the country.
The action temporarily bans individuals from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US or obtaining visas, including F-1 and J-1 student visas.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, and other media are closely monitoring this developing story. The coverage below explores the order’s effect on students, scholars, and communities.
NACAC President Nancy Beane sent the following message to members today:
Dear Colleagues,
This past Friday’s executive order restricting immigration has shaken the admission profession and the institutions we serve. The policy is fundamentally opposed to NACAC’s values, and we have begun strategizing with colleagues in the higher education community and others to discover ways to help ease the anxiety students, families, and professionals are experiencing. Continue reading ICYMI: NACAC Responds to Immigration Order→
The Minnesota Office of Higher Education has teamed up with a group of teens to promote Summer Nudging — a program that uses text messages to help high schoolers successfully navigate the transition to college.
Students from the High School for Recording Arts — a charter school located in St. Paul, Minnesota — recently created a music video to promote the free service.
Teens who sign up receive weekly text messages reminding them when key deadlines are approaching.
Scraping up enough money to purchase textbooks weighs heavily on the minds of many college students, according to staffers at New America.
The Washington, DC-based think tank convened students and parents this fall for a series of focus groups. The gatherings offered participants the opportunity to share their opinions about higher education and student success.
“Students and parents alike had a lot to say about the cost of tuition and the institutions themselves, and offered policy ideas they believed could alleviate some of the things that weren’t working,” New America staff members Ernest Ezeugo and Manuela Ekowo wrote in a recent blog post. “But when students were asked what they thought the most problematic aspects of college were, it was the cost of textbooks that most animated the room.”
Black and Hispanic teens are less likely than their peers to express interest in a job in the sciences.
A recent Pew Research Center analysis of data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress revealed a racial and ethnic gap among students seeking such careers.
Among Asian and white high school seniors, 59 and 45 percent, respectively, say they would like a job that involves science.
By comparison, only 40 percent of Hispanics and 39 percent of blacks indicated they wanted a science-related career.
Looking for ways to boost FAFSA completion rates in your school district?
Erin Bibo, deputy chief of college & career programs with DC Public Schools, shared success strategies in a recent column published by Homeroom — the official blog of the US Department of Education.
“Financial aid plays a huge factor in students’ college-going decisions and success,” Bibo wrote. “For a large urban district like DC Public Schools, where 77 percent of our students qualify for free and reduced price lunch, getting graduating seniors to complete their FAFSAs on time isn’t an optional task, it’s a necessary one.”
Editor’s Note: A version of this post originally appeared on Admitted in December 2015.
US high schools must devote more time to college counseling if they want to “see the fruit of other investments,” according to one education researcher.
In a 2015 column, New America staffer Abigail Swisher makes the case that students need both rigorous curriculum and personalized guidance to achieve their postsecondary plans.
“If we want to recreate the American high school as a place where all students have the resources for success in college and career, we need to reinvent the role of counselors,” Swisher writes, citing data from NACAC and other education associations. “This could mean reducing the caseload or number of responsibilities each counselor has, or it might mean moving to an entirely different model of support.”
