Maintained for Historical Purposes

This resource is being maintained for historical purposes only and is not currently applicable.

(General) Subject: FAFSA Completion Tool Announcement

Posted Date:March 16, 2012

Author: Brenda Wensil, Chief Customer Experience Officer, Federal Student Aid

Subject: FAFSA Completion Tool Announcement

Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Education released a new tool that will help high school counselors and school leaders by giving them a resource to monitor FAFSA completions and better help students access higher education. School officials can now track FAFSA submission and completion statistics at individual high schools on the FAFSA Completion website, which will help them ensure that their students are filling out the FAFSA and therefore are able to determine their eligibility for federal student aid – a key factor in families' college decisions.

Making the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) easier to use has been a key part of the Administration's effort to increase access to college and help the nation reach President Obama's goal to lead the world in college graduates by 2020. In addition to determining eligibility for federal student aid, which includes Pell grants, federal student loans and work study opportunities, many states, institutions and private organizations rely on the FAFSA to determine eligibility for non-federal sources of aid, so filing a FAFSA has become the gateway to accessing funds for college. Key studies have indicated that FAFSA completion correlates strongly with college enrollment, particularly among low-income populations.

Through the FAFSA Completion Tool, which will be updated every two weeks, educators will have reliable data to track FAFSA submission and completion and gauge their progress in increasing FAFSA completion. School officials can determine their school-wide FAFSA completion rate by comparing the number provided by the FAFSA Completion Tool with the number of seniors in their high school.

To access FAFSA submission and completion data for every high school, visit: http://federalstudentaid.ed.gov/datacenter/fafsahs.html.

If you have questions, please send an email to HSFAFSA@ed.gov.