A Program of the Louisiana Board of Regents |
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LOSFA supports Futures Fund Tech Academy GEAR UP trainees |
The Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance supported 45 high school students learning technology training through the Futures Fund Tech Academy.
The Futures Fund provides tech-based programming for teens and young adults in Baton Rouge.
Students supported by LOSFA took coding courses for the web and were trained in web design and coding languages, such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
The academy also provided college readiness, skills training, and workforce development.
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Regional Coordinator, Chauntreniece Davis, was named as one of 33 National College Attainment Network (NCAN) Member Advocacy Fellows. These fellows will engage in national higher education policy discussions (college access, affordability, and attainment) over the next year.
Richard Davis, Jr., LOSFA's former student advisory board member and graduate student at Louisiana State University, was selected as NCAN's student fellow, along with Chase Brouillette, Spring Hill College alum.
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How colleges are reenrolling stopped-out students during the pandemic |
Higher education officials expect the number of traditional-aged students to decline in the coming years, so they are beginning to focus on re-enrolling some 36 million adults, known as stop-out students - those who have college credits but no degree.
Online courses have proved successful for programs that target these potential students, many of whom have family obligations and work.
Statistics from 2018 show in Louisiana, 441,000 adults have some college but no degree. The University of Louisiana System designed a program, Compete LA, to virtually re-enroll stop-outs in one of the state's nine participating universities. As of November, 430 had begun taking classes.
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Grambling State launches online degree completion program for working adults and stop-outs |
Grambling State University launched its Grambling Global Academy, an online low-cost program to help adults complete their bachelor's degree. The academy is in partnership with StraighterLine, a company that provides affordable, self-paced courses. Courses are also mobile-friendly.
Tuition is $125 per month and includes e-textbooks and access to online tutoring.
To enroll, or read more about the Grambling Global Academy, click here.
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DeBaun: Drop in FAFSA completion is a slow-motion train wreck for college enrollment & students’ futures. It’s not too late to stop it |
According to a recent article by Bill DeBaun, Director of Data and Evaluation at the National College Attainment Network (NCAN), 90 percent of students who complete the FAFSA are likely to attend college following their high school graduation.
There are 117,000 fewer applications this year, as compared to the same time last year.
DeBaun says states must connect with students and provide technical support and assistance to encourage students on the college application process.
LOSFA provides services remotely through Zoom one-on-one virtual office hour sessions and events, email, text messaging, fax, phone calls, and through its social media platforms, to assist students with the FAFSA, scholarships and grants, and the college admissions process.
According to NCAN's FAFSA Tracker, eight schools who receive assistance from LOSFA's Field Outreach Services have seen a year to year increase:
Ebarb High School: 114.3 percent increase
Wesgate High School: 93.3 percent increase
Lincoln Prepartory School: 37.5 percent increase
Wossman High School: 27.3 percent increase
Scotlandville Magnet High School: 16.2 percent increase
McKinley High School: 11.1 percent increase
Bastrop High School: 10 percent increase
Einstein Charter High School: 8.3 percent increase
Click here to access NCAN's FAFSA Tracker.
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A worrying trend this fall: decline in FAFSA applications |
Early FAFSA data from the National College Attainment Network (NCAN) shows completion rates with the Class of 2021 are down 16 percent more than last year with the Class of 2020.
The data from NCAN also found declines in the number of low-income and minority students who are completing the FAFSA.
Some education officials worry these declines could foreshadow what college classrooms will look like next year.
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Simplifying the FAFSA is more important now than ever |
In 2020, 100,000 fewer high school seniors completed a FAFSA than in 2019, according to the National College Attainment Network's Executive Director, Kim Cook.
Cook recently outlined three steps federal policymakers should take to simplify and shorten the FAFSA, making it a less complicated process for students. With inequity and lack of affordability, she writes now is the time to consider changes, especially with families experiencing income loss due to COVID-19.
One change would be to simplify the formula for Pell Grant eligibility. Cook suggests a formula that ties Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) to family size and poverty levels would ensure more low-income families can afford college. She also recommends families who receive benefits, such as SNAP, should automatically have a zero Expected Family Contribution (EFC).
Click the button below to read Cook's article.
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Louisiana Promise: Tulane University to meet full financial need, with no loans, for students whose families make less than $100,000 |
The president of Tulane University announced a new initiative, called the Louisiana Promise, to make attending college more affordable and accessible to Louisiana students who come from low-and middle-income families.
Louisiana Promise will include a college preparatory center for high school students, a pre-college summer program for high school students to experience college life, and financial awards for those who attend Tulane University.
The Louisiana Promise financial awards will provide full assistance (without loans) to students who graduate from a Louisiana high school and attend Tulane as a first-time, full-time freshman in the fall, whose families make less than $100,000.
Click the button below to read more.
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Pay it forward a generation with 529s |
Troy Montigney, Vice President of Relationship Management for a 529 industry leader, described how he benefitted from a college savings plan. Montingney says his grandparents sat aside money for his college fund when he was a child. His parents later put that money into a 529 account, which they contributed to as well. That money combined with merit-aid allowed him to graduate from college debt-free.
He says opening a 529 account for a child is not just a commitment to their education; it's a positive cycle that affects generations to come.
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"The program seems like a great opportunity for the boys to have a little extra for college and us not having to worry about taking out a loan for them to go [to college].
I have a little bit of time to save a good bit. I like that it also just comes out of my check and I don't have to worry about going make an extra deposit somewhere else."
-Christy Boudreaux
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We started Elizabeth a college savings account when she was just 6 weeks old! Highly recommend the START Saving 529 Program. College is EXPENSIVE, so it was important to us to start saving early for it!
-Nina Mooney
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About LOSFA
The Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance (LOSFA), a program of the Louisiana Board of Regents, strives to be Louisiana's first choice for college access by promoting, preparing for and providing equity of college access.
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