Massachusetts Publishes FAFSA Completion Dashboard to Encourage Students to Apply for Financial Aid
Dashboard continues Governor Maura Healey’s efforts to make higher education more affordable
EVERETT – The Healey-Driscoll Administration today published a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Massachusetts data dashboard to encourage students to complete the form with help from their family, school or other partners and access college financial aid. The dashboard will provide frequent updates of completion rates by school, district and student group.
The FAFSA is the financial aid form for accessing grants, federal student loans and work-study funds. Cost continues to be a barrier to college for many students, particularly students who are the first in their family to attend college. Filling out the FAFSA is one of the most important steps students and their families can take.
“Massachusetts has made huge investments in college affordability, but we need to make sure our students can benefit from them by filling out financial aid applications,” said Governor Maura Healey. “This dashboard will help parents and school leaders identify where high school seniors could use more support completing the form and taking the next steps toward higher education.”
“Filling out the FAFSA can open the door to free community college, significant aid at state universities and aid from private colleges,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “It’s a critical part of preparing for college, and this dashboard is designed to heighten schools’ awareness of this important step.”
Information in the dashboard includes only FAFSA completion and is based on FAFSA completion records from the federal government that the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) matches with state Student Information Management System data. Completion numbers in the dashboard may be slightly lower than the actual numbers. Schools and districts already have access to student-level data through DESE’s Security Portal.
“This dashboard is designed to galvanize support for students who could benefit from financial aid but aren’t applying for it,” said Education Secretary Dr. Patrick Tutwiler. “One of the most important things for families to know is that financial aid is available to many students if they apply, particularly at Massachusetts state colleges and universities.”
“Our hope is that by shedding more light on FAFSA completion rates, more people will become aware of how important that form is for students’ future success,” said Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Pedro Martinez. “We also want students to know that there are organizations that can help them complete the FAFSA for free.”
“Too many students leave money and opportunity on the table by not applying for financial aid,” said Commissioner of Higher Education Noe Ortega. “This dashboard makes FAFSA completion data accessible in a way that will advance the college access efforts of our state, schools and non-profit partners.”
This dashboard is the latest effort by the administration to increase exposure to higher education, improve the information pipeline, and build awareness of financial and institutional supports that help students see themselves in college. It also accomplishes one of the recommendations from the administration’s Advisory Council to Advance Representation in Education (ACARE). Additional progress under the Healey-Driscoll Administration includes:
· Launched the Go Higher initiative that raises awareness of all forms of college financial support, including grants, scholarships, loan forgiveness, tuition waivers and in-state tuition.
· Hosted a Financial Aid Road Show, in which officials visited schools across Massachusetts and spoke with hundreds of students about historic financial aid opportunities. The road show coincided with the state’s “College is Possible” ad campaign that ran from late February to mid-May, targeting high school seniors and adult learners with billboards and TV, radio and digital ads in English and Spanish.
· Awarded over $2 million in grants to 89 school districts across Massachusetts to help them adopt the My Career and Academic Plan (MyCAP) tool for students, in addition to technical assistance and coaching to support planning and implementation.
· Approved 36 new Early ollege programs. Early College gives thousands of Massachusetts high school students the chance to earn free, transferable college credits before graduation.
· Subsidized 90,783 AP exams for nearly 50,000 low-income students. Students who take Advanced Placement courses in high school are more likely to enroll in a four-year college and perform better in introductory college courses.
· In seven school districts, the Department of Higher Education operates the federal GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness & Readiness for Undergraduate Programs), which prepares students for college and offers one-on-one support throughout the college application process.
"The Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority remains dedicated to supporting students and families across the Commonwealth, and the launch of the FAFSA Completion Dashboard will play a key role in assisting our efforts" said Tom Graf, executive director of MEFA. "The dashboard will help us to move our work forward in a more meaningful capacity, allowing us to reach the populations across the Commonwealth who need us most and target our outreach to raise awareness of MEFA's free assistance available for FAFSA completion."
“The availability of FAFSA completion data is critical for all of us who support students and families in the college-going process,” said Bob Bardwell, executive director of the Massachusetts School Counselors Association. "While school counselors already had access to detailed data, this public-facing dashboard will help raise awareness and target support efforts."
“Through our work with thousands of students across Massachusetts, we know there’s a prevailing narrative that college is not affordable. We also know that when students complete the FAFSA or MASFA to access state and federal aid, they are 84 percent more likely to enroll in college or other postsecondary degree programs,” said Amanda Seider, executive director of OneGoal. “We applaud the launch of this new dashboard and the Commonwealth’s continued commitment to affordable higher education for all students.”
More information about the new, public Massachusetts FAFSA Completion Dashboard and the FAFSA information that is available only to schools is available online.
