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At a time when Colorado lawmakers wish to enhance the variety of college students filling out faculty monetary help types, highschool counselors are set to lose entry to a state information instrument that specialists say is vital to engaging in that aim.
The instrument reveals counselors every scholar’s progress towards finishing the Free Utility for Federal Pupil Assist. Counselors use it to determine if college students are working into points throughout the course of to allow them to then get these college students assist.
The Colorado Division of Larger Training employed a brief, full-time coordinator to handle the instrument in 2023 as a part of a push to extend FAFSA outreach. However state lawmakers lower the $61,000 place this previous spring on account of a finances shortfall. State finances writers thought it wouldn’t be wanted as a result of there’s already federal and state help for college kids to fill out the revamped FAFSA.
Though the so-called Higher FAFSA has improved the method after a rocky rollout, nationwide specialists say state-run information instruments akin to this one stay one of many more practical methods to boost FAFSA completion charges — wanting mandating that top faculty college students full the FAFSA to graduate, a coverage Colorado has not adopted.
The lack of the coordinator means the state will cease offering student-level information beginning in 2026.
Gabriel Guindon, Denver Scholarship Basis’s director of faculty entry, mentioned his workforce was shocked after they heard in regards to the lower in September. Guindon mentioned it will likely be harder for his group, which focuses on supporting Denver college students going to varsity, to pinpoint college students who haven’t accomplished a monetary help kind.
“It’s the one dependable, correct supply that summarizes the place all college students in a faculty constructing stand when it comes to monetary help completion,” he mentioned. “It’s going to take away any potential for us to have an correct listing.”
The FAFSA opens up the potential for federal cash and different grants and scholarships to pay for faculty. State lawmakers have wished to extend FAFSA help as a result of college students who full it usually tend to instantly enroll in faculty. A lot of Colorado’s highest paying jobs with alternative for development require education past highschool.
Colorado has additionally ranked close to the underside in FAFSA completion for years. This final yr, Colorado ranked forty fourth within the nation in getting 2025 highschool seniors to finish the FAFSA. About 49% of its seniors completed the shape. Information for the 2026 faculty yr hasn’t been launched but.
In 2022, a state working group launched a report commissioned by lawmakers that outlined concepts to assist transfer Colorado into the highest 10% of FAFSA completion by 2026 or get 80% of seniors filling out the shape.
The report included suggestions to extend workers to assist college students, enhance information sources, and create a statewide FAFSA requirement. Lawmakers have supplied some cash for the work, and the state has added a number of positions to its outreach workforce.
Lawmakers additionally haven’t totally funded suggestions partly on account of finances considerations and to provide the federal authorities time to repair issues with the brand new FAFSA software, which launched in late 2023. Lawmakers have additionally expressed considerations that a commencement requirement would place extra work on colleges.
With out the info instrument, Guindon mentioned his workers on the Denver Scholarship Basis should attain out instantly to each scholar to know their progress.
“That is most likely going to quadruple the period of time, and doubtless much more, that (my) workforce members should concentrate on reaching out to college students about their monetary help progress,” mentioned Guindon.
The Colorado Division of Larger Training requested lawmakers in its finances request to proceed funding the place. Joint Price range Committee workers beneficial in March its elimination as a result of “important federal and native methods and buildings present sturdy help for FAFSA software completion to each people, households, and colleges.”
Price range lawmakers did present everlasting funding on the request of the division for a Colorado Utility for State Monetary Assist coordinator, which the division created at about the identical time because the coordinator who managed FAFSA information.
CASFA helps decide monetary want for college kids who can’t fill out the FAFSA, akin to college students with out authorized documentation. Price range writers included $88,000 a yr for the CASFA coordinator as a result of they decided there’s much less help for these college students.
With out the FAFSA coordinator, the division will solely be capable of present district-level FAFSA completion information via the instrument.
“I don’t know if we made a powerful sufficient case, as a result of I used to be shocked that they [the Joint Budget Committee] would lower it,” Colorado Larger Training Division Govt Director Angie Paccione mentioned. “I’ll take that. I’ll personal it.”
Invoice DeBaun, senior director of knowledge and strategic initiatives with the Nationwide Faculty Attainment Community, mentioned he’s by no means heard of a state eradicating entry to a knowledge instrument on account of how vital the knowledge might be to educators.
“There’s nothing I’m conscious of inherent within the new FAFSA that will obviate the necessity for the sorts of state to native information sharing which were profitable throughout the nation,” he mentioned.
In 2019, Colorado had 15 FAFSA coordinators funded by a grant who labored in areas throughout the state, Paccione mentioned. For the reason that grant expired, the workforce has reduced in size, she mentioned.
After the latest lower, Colorado has eight workers members devoted to FAFSA outreach, a spokesperson mentioned. The workforce has fewer workers members than in smaller states like Kentucky, North Carolina, and Georgia, DeBaun mentioned.
The info coordinator probably had essentially the most widespread impression, DeBaun mentioned.
“In the event you instructed me that I might have a coordinator who was both doing statewide programming or who might concentrate on the info sharing,” he mentioned, “I’d wish to hold that information sharing piece as a result of that’s one thing that probably touches each single faculty and faculty counselor in a state.”
Jason Gonzales is a reporter protecting increased training and the Colorado legislature. Chalkbeat Colorado companions with Open Campus on increased training protection. Contact Jason at jgonzales@chalkbeat.org.
