College Access & FAFSA Completion: Bridging the Gap

1. College Access & FAFSA Completion: Bridging the Gap

2. Topics: • FAFSA Challenge Grant • What is the FAFSA? • Why is the FAFSA important • Perceptions & Barriers • What a student needs to complete the FAFSA • Prior Prior Year [PPY] • Dependent vs. Independent students • Dependency Overrides • Special Circumstances • Student Resources • How can you help with FAFSA Completion

3. FAFSA Challenge Grant

4. FAFSA Challenge Grant • Funding through NCAN [National College Access Network] • MARC [Mid-America Regional Council] applied for the grant • Kansas City was chosen! • The grant supports citywide FAFSA completion efforts • Challenged to increase FAFSA completion rates by 5% among high school class of 2017 • Grant committee putting together media, outreach, and events to reach goals • There’s MORE...

5. FAFSA Challenge Grant 3-5 additional monetary prizes totaling $300K to the cities demonstrating: • The greatest percentage point growth in HS FAFSA completion for the class of 2017 [compared to 2015] • Highest HS FAFSA rate for the class of 2017 • The most innovative or collaborative FAFSA completion strategy and/or partnership with post secondary institutions

6. What is the FAFSA?

7. What is the FAFSA? • Free Application for Federal Student Aid • FREE is important - there are services posing as the FAFSA that will charge unknowing students $80 • The key to receiving any federal aid • Pell Grants • State Aid • Work Study • Many scholarship programs or institutional aid also require a FAFSA

8. Why is the FAFSA Important?

9. The Importance of the FAFSA • First-generation college students file FAFSAs later than those with parents with college experience, which can keep them from qualifying for the most possible aid (Feeney, 2013) • FAFSAs are filed more often by students in higher income brackets (Feeney, 2013) • Low income students either don’t know about the availability of aid or think that they are ineligible (Tebbs, 2005)

10. The Importance of the FAFSA • In a study, 8 million students in 1999-2000 enrolled for credit at higher education institutions did not fill out a FAFSA; 10.6% (850,000) of those who did not apply would have been eligible for a Pell Grant. (King, 2004) • Pell Grant recipients are more likely to attend college full time (Clery, 2006) • Students who attend full-time are more successful than part-time students (Douglass, 2012)

11. Perceptions & Barriers

12. Perceptions & Barriers: Difficulty of the application Will not qualify Parents - financial commitment Parents will not provide their information

13. What a Student Needs to Complete the FAFSA

14. What does a student need? • 2015 tax information (student and parent) • Includes W2s for non-filers • Tax information can be transferred from IRS using Data Retrieval Tool for many people, but having paperwork present is vital • FSAID for student and parent • Electronic signature for FAFSA • Can be created while filling out FAFSA

15. Prior Prior Year (PPY): What Does It Mean?

16. Prior Prior Year • Previously, a FAFSA would use the prior year's tax information • Examples • 2015-16 FAFSA required 2014 taxes • 2016-17 FAFSA requires 2015 taxes • Beginning in 2017-18, FAFSA will use tax info from two years back • 2017-18 FAFSA will use 2015 taxes • Also means that FAFSA completion dates, college required dates, and state aid dates will change

17. Prior Prior Year • 2017-18 FAFSA will be available for completion on October 1, 2016 • Previously January 1 • Missouri State Aid Priority Deadline will be February 1, 2017 • Moststates have same deadline, but not all • Colleges will often require FAFSAs to be in by their own earlier deadline for institutional aid consideration

18. Dependent vs. Independent Students

19. Dependent vs. Independent A student is considered independent if:Student is Independent for 2017-18 year if: • Born before January 1, 1994 • Married as of the date of application • Graduate or Professional Student • Serving on active duty for purposes other than training • Veteran of the US Armed Forces • Has children or dependents other than a spouse • Was an orphan, foster child, or ward/dependent of the court any time since the age of 13 • Is an emancipated minor or in legal guardianship when they reached age of majority • Was determined to be an unaccompanied youth who was homeless or self-supporting and at risk of being homeless

20. Dependent vs. Independent Any students outside of these situations are Dependent, but there are some special cases where students may have an unusual circumstance. A Dependency Override is applicable in this case.

21. Dependency Override

22. Dependency Override Examples of what CAN be considered: • Abandonment by parents • Abusive family environment endangering the student’s health or safety • Student unable to locate parents

23. Dependency Override Examples of what CAN NOT be considered: • Parents refusing to contribute to the student’s education • Parents unwilling to provide information for FAFSA or verification • Parents do not claim student as dependent for income tax purposes • Student demonstrates total self-sufficiency

24. Dependency Override Documentation is taken and processed by each school individually. A school may get information from another school regarding their DO decision within the same aid year, but each school must make their own decision.

25. Special Circumstances

26. Special Circumstances Similar process to dependency override, except this is for a change in life circumstances • Divorce or death of spouse/parent • Change in income • Large medical bills paid by household member

27. Special Circumstances Circumstance must be generally out of the control of the applicable person Example - Income Decrease • Laid Off from Job – OK • Quit Job to Go to School - NOT OK

28. Special Circumstances Documentation is taken and processed by each school individually. A school may get information from another school regarding their SC decision within the same aid year, but each school must make their own decision.

29. Student Resources

30. Student Resources • MCAC Advisors • Statewide FAFSA Frenzy [Sunday, Nov 13] • EOC [Educational Opportunity Center] • MCC Financial Aid Office • YOU!

31. Your Role in FAFSA Completion

32. How can you help? • Support FAFSA completion events & workshops • Encourage faculty & staff to promote FAFSA completion • Awareness - Help to educate students & parents

33. Let’s Bridge the Gap!

34. Questions?

35. Contacts: Dr. Rossann Downing Director of Financial Aid and Academic Advising - MCC-Penn Valley Leslie Harger Financial Aid Advisor - MCC-Penn Valley

36. Sources Clery, S. (2006). Do Pell Grants Make a Difference? Achieving the Dream, Volume 1 (Number 4), 1-3. Douglass, J. & Thomson, G. (2012). Poor and Rich: Student Economic Stratification and Academic Performance in a Public Research University System. Higher Education Quarterly, Volume 66 (Number 1), 65-89. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2273.2011.00511.x Feeney, M. & Heroff, J. (2013). Barriers to Need-Based Financial Aid: Predictors of Timely FAFSA Completion Among Low-Income Students. Journal of Student Financial Aid, Volume 43 (Issue 2), 64-85. http://publications.nasfaa.org/jsfa/vol43/iss2/2 King, J. (2004), Missed Opportunities: Students Who Do Not Apply for Financial Aid. American Council on Education Issue Brief, October 2004, 1-14. Tebbs, J. & Turner, S. (2005). College Education for Low-Income Students: A Caution About Using Data on Pell Grant Recipients. Change, July/August 2005, 34-43.