Guest Presenters:
- Barrye Bailey, Education Program Consultant, Office of Career and College Readiness, Louisiana Department of Education
- Ebony Holmes, Director of Public Information & Advising, Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance
- Chandra Scott, Executive Director, Alabama Possible
- Manisha Mishra, Deputy Director, Alabama Possible
- Michelle Ashcraft, Associate Commissioner for K-12 Strategy, Indiana Commission for Higher Education
FCAN Host: Deborah Martin, Policy Analyst
With over 10 states having adopted and/or implemented a universal FAFSA policy for their graduating high school seniors, the national movement around this change continues to grow. Florida currently has not adopted a universal FAFSA policy and as a result, our high school graduating class continues to miss out on over $300 million in Pell Grants every year! Most Florida college students use a combination of federal, state, and institutional aid to pay for college, and the FAFSA is an integral tool to help unlock dollars for students attending a variety of postsecondary institutions, including technical colleges.
FCAN continues to advocate for this policy as data show 90% of students who complete the FAFSA are more likely to enroll in college directly from high school. Please join us for our FAFSA Webinar Series Part 1 focused on universal FAFSA advocacy and implementation in Louisiana, Alabama, and Indiana.
Barrye Bailey and Ebony Holmes will discuss FAFSA efforts in Louisiana. This includes Louisiana’s strategy regarding initial FAFSA legislation filing and the impact of the FAFSA mandate. Bailey and Holmes will also share some examples of FAFSA outreach efforts in their state.
Alabama Possible’s advocacy efforts led to the passage of their FAFSA completion policy which resulted in the high school graduating class of 2022 ranking 9th in the nation in FAFSA completion and 2nd in the nation in year-over-year FAFSA completion improvement. Prior to the policy, Alabama had not ranked in the top 20. The training and resource support Alabama Possible provides continues to equip educators, students and organizations with tools which has resulted in Alabama ranking top 10 in FAFSA completion two years in a row.
Indiana became the eighth state to pass universal FAFSA legislation, signed by Governor Holcomb in April of this year. Most recently, Indiana students left behind $69 million in Pell Grants. Their policy will be applied rapidly, starting with the graduating class of 2024.
This webinar will highlight the advocacy efforts from the three states and provide insight on how they have implemented this policy. Please get your questions ready as we will have time to answer any at the end of the presentation.
Event Details
Webinar: FAFSA Series Part 1: Universal FAFSA Policy – Examples of Advocacy, Adoption & Implementation
Date and time: Tuesday, August 22nd, 1 p.m. – 2 p.m. EST