DCAN In-Depth | Apr. 3, 2020
FAFSA is crucial during crisis
Dear Colleagues:

In our fourth issue of DCAN In-Depth , we'll address the questions surrounding FAFSA during the COVID-19 crisis and celebrate the progress we've made toward hitting our goals.

Our students are facing uncertainty. DCAN's goal is to support you in getting them the information and resources they need to successfully complete the FAFSA.

Your questions, comments or ideas are always welcome.

Be well,

Dr. Ashley Johnson
Executive Director, DCAN
HOW WE'RE DOING
A look at our goals and current data
As of March 1st , Detroit had a FAFSA c ompletion rate of 48% . As of April 1st, the city has a completion rate of 52% , which puts us slightly ahead of the state (50.5%) and national (49.2%) averages.

Way to go Detroit!

We are excited to hear which Detroit schools are winners of the Governor’s FAFSA Challenge in the coming weeks!
Congratulations to Detroit's
Top Performing Schools!
These schools have above 75% completion:

  • Cass Technical High School
  • Chandler Park Academy
  • Detroit Cristo Rey
  • Detroit Edison Public School Academy
  • Detroit International Academy
  • Frontier International Academy
  • Jalen Rose Leadership Academy
  • Pershing High School
  • Renaissance High School
  • University of Detroit Jesuit High School

DCAN’s College Bound Grant schools have a FAFSA completion rate of 65% or higher! Way to go to the entire cohort:

  • Chandler Park Academy
  • Cornerstone Health and Technology School
  • Jalen Rose Leadership Academy
  • Martin Luther King, Jr. Senior High School
  • Pershing High School
  • University Prep Art & Design
RESOURCES
Helpful links and tools
For Your Students: Live FAFSA Webinar

Date: April 9, 2020
Time: 1:30 p.m.
Duration: 30 minutes

Join University of Michigan College Advising Corps alumnus Christina Johnson  as she speaks to high-school seniors about how FAFSA completion allows you to be considered for federal student aid, in addition to the FAFSA being an essential part of how colleges and states determine eligibility for more financial aid. An expert college adviser will explain the steps to complete your FAFSA and resources that can make the process as straightforward as possible. 

Click here to join the live webinar on April 9
FAFSA SPOTLIGHT
The Kresge Foundation celebrates London Johnson & Jassadi Moore
Click the image to read more!
FAFSA COMPLETIONS TUMBLE NATIONALLY OVER CORONAVIRUS
Call-to-Action: Support FAFSA completions in crisis
In a report from March 30 , NCAN reports that :

"From March 13 to March 20, completions nationally took a dive compared to last year’s cycle. On March 13, FAFSA completions nationally were up 0.2% (about 3,000 completions) compared to last academic year through the same date. A week later, FAFSA completions were down 0.5% (about 9,600 completions). This 0.7 percentage-point drop is the second largest after Jan. 1 since the FAFSA Tracker began monitoring weekly FAFSA completions during the 2018-19 FAFSA cycle."

This is obviously alarming. What can we do?

FAFSA Call-to-Action:

  • Meet with every senior and their parents if possible virtually to ensure they complete the FAFSA:
  • Answer questions about graduation;
  • Support them with steps after high school;
  • Support them with making a final postsecondary decision;
  • Speak openly to the anxiety that most students may have now that school is closed for the rest of the year;
  • Use the DCAN resources made available to you to best support your students. Let us know what more you need to accomplish this. We're in this together.
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