The other ‘missed connection’ on college campuses
“What if?” It’s a question that missed connections from chance encounters can leave us to wonder. It’s also the exact type of thinking that has led to positive change. Here’s a big one: WHAT IF colleges used data from the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) to secure today’s students’ basic needs?
Higher Learning Advocates partnered with the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) to conduct a survey of aid administrators to learn more about how higher education institutions are using data from the FAFSA to reach out to students about their potential eligibility for federal means-tested benefits (MTBs), such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), subsidized health insurance, broadband assistance, and tax credits. The survey research, presented throughout our newest brief, The Numbers Speak for Themselves: Using FAFSA Data to Secure Today’s Students’ Basic Needs, followed the Department of Education’s (ED’s) effort to encourage institutions to address students’ basic needs insecurity in January 2022 via a Dear Colleague letter (DCL).
Here are some key takeaways from the survey:
Some institutions are conducting public benefits outreach, but not as many as we had hoped.
The survey showed that just over one-quarter of respondents noted that their higher education institution is conducting direct outreach to students about any federal benefit programs with or without using FAFSA data, and an additional 18% have plans to do so. Forty-three percent do not do direct outreach and have no plans of doing so. An optimist could say there is plenty of room for growth.
Linda Williams, the enrollment management director at Sierra College (CA) estimated it took a day to run the data on the roughly 17,000 students at the community college. She noted that providing students with more support on the front end will save financial aid administrators substantial time in supporting them on the back end through satisfactory academic progress appeals and assisting stopped-out students to re-enroll.
Direct outreach varies by institutional sector
Among institutions currently providing direct outreach to students about federal benefit programs, public four-year schools and community colleges are doing the most at 36% and 28%, respectively.
Most institutions that don’t use FAFSA data to conduct outreach feel they don’t have adequate resources or training to conduct outreach.
Of the respondents who reported they did not conduct direct outreach to students about federal benefits, 72% cited resource constraints, and 49% cited concerns about follow-up questions they’re not qualified to answer as reasons. ED needs to work with institutions to demystify such outreach.
Financial aid offices bear the brunt of existing outreach to students on public benefits.
Of the institutions that reported they conduct direct outreach, the outreach was primarily conducted by the financial aid office, either alone (46%) or in coordination with another office (34%). Other offices include student affairs and basic needs centers.
Food assistance and broadband access top the list of outreach, using FAFSA data.
SNAP and the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) were the most popular programs for conducting targeted outreach using FAFSA data at 85% and 64%, respectively. Given the spotlight on student food insecurity, it’s great to see institutions trying to connect students to SNAP. Fewer than 20% of respondents reported using FAFSA data to conduct direct outreach about the health insurance available under the Affordable Care Act or the Child Tax Credit. This is a missed opportunity to ensure students have free or low-cost health insurance and that those with children receive the tax breaks to which they are entitled.
While most institutions aren’t using FAFSA data to target outreach, information on public benefits is being shared with students.
Of those institutions that conduct outreach, information that institutions provided included how to apply for benefits (78%), eligibility criteria (50%), and informing individual students they appear to qualify for federal benefits (41%). In addition to sharing information with students, financial aid offices around the country are working with campus basic needs centers and benefits navigators to take on the more complicated components of connecting students to benefits. Partnering with county or state human services agencies is also a useful pathway that institutions can take to help streamline benefits applications and work more closely with students to troubleshoot cases.
Creating opportunity from ‘missed connections’
Higher learning continues to be a worthwhile investment in the lives of Americans and their families. However, the rising costs associated with postsecondary education are causing more students to struggle to meet their basic needs, such as food, housing, and child care. Ensuring that students have access to these necessities is critical to their success in education and inevitably the workforce. Federal means-tested public benefits are available to address students’ basic needs insecurity. Yet, too many low-income students are unaware of what benefits are available to them and if they even qualify.
There is clearly great potential in providing institutions with the knowledge, resources, and training necessary to connect students with public benefits to meet their basic needs. While using FAFSA data to target outreach to students can seem like a daunting task, there are several institutions that are doing this work well. Uplifting these best practices can help schools figure out how to embark on sharing data and developing their own model, which is exactly what we share in our newest brief — check it out.
