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February 26, 2014

You’ve probably seen the projections—in our global economy, 6 out of 10 jobs  will require some form of postsecondary education beyond high school by 2020.  And as you know well, the financial cost of obtaining a bachelor’s degree,  associate’s degree, or industry-recognized certificate can be daunting for  students and their families. Too many feel college is out of reach for them,  and some doubt its value—even when the evidence is clear that postsecondary  degrees lead to increased earnings and stronger engagement in graduates’ communities.

As you and your colleagues work to create pathways for students from high  school to college, I want to inform you of some new resources from the U.S.  Department of Education that are designed to increase the number of students  filling out the one form that is the gateway to a diverse set of postsecondary  opportunities: the Free  Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Studies have found that  FAFSA completion correlates strongly with college enrollment, particularly  among low-income students. The FAFSA takes an average of only 23 minutes to  complete online, and it’s entirely free and secure.

In our efforts to expand college access and success and to increase the  number of FAFSA applications, the Department of Education offers two new  digital tools to help your high school principals and counselors identify which  students need to fill out the FAFSA and to encourage students and parents to  fill out the FAFSA together.

The FAFSA Completion Tool was created to help financial aid professionals,  school administrators, and practitioners track and increase FAFSA  completions. The Tool—updated biweekly throughout the spring—provides  every high school in the United States whose students have completed five or  more FAFSAs with information about how many applications were submitted and  completed for the 2014–15 application year as well as comparison data from the  2013–14 FAFSA application year. When I was CEO of Chicago’s schools, we found  that school-by-school data was a great way to encourage healthy competition  among our high schools. Coming online soon will be a new resource for states to  provide counselors with information to see if particular students have filled  out their FAFSA.

The second tool, the Financial Aid Toolkit, is designed to assist educators,  counselors, and others by consolidating financial aid resources in one place,  making it easier to find and access information to help students and parents  understand the financial aid process, apply for aid, repay loans, and generally  prepare for college. For instance, there are tips on how to host a FAFSA completion workshop—something First Lady Michelle Obama and I did recently with families in Virginia. The toolkit  also contains links to sample tweets, Facebook posts, videos, blog posts, infographics  and other resources that can be used to encourage and help  students and parents to fill out the FAFSA.

Last year, roughly one million high school seniors did not submit the FAFSA,  making them ineligible for federal grants and loans as well as most state-based  and institutional aid. When students complete the FAFSA, they help themselves *and* make a positive contribution to their  school, communities, and states. In Michigan, for example, the governor and  legislature leveraged an investment of $2 million to build a statewide college  access infrastructure. More than 50 Michigan communities have organized around  a common dashboard to increase college enrollment. Since more than 90 percent  of high school graduates attend Michigan higher education institutions, the  state hopes its emphasis on FAFSA completion and other metrics will result in  tens of millions of dollars in additional student aid for the state, its colleges,  universities, and students.

Don’t let your students leave money on the table, money that could help them  achieve their dreams of college. Please make your principals, counselors,  parent association leaders, and other colleagues aware of these tools and  encourage completion of the FAFSA for all of your graduating students this  year.



| | Many thanks,
| | ------------
| | /s/         
| | Arne Duncan 

P.S. A terrific way to celebrate your students getting into college is with  a "signing day ceremony." You can learn more about these  inspiring (and easy) events in this blog I  posted on ED.gov.