Impact Report: Driving college access and completion

Completing the FAFSA can open up financial aid options that can help students pay for college and earn their degree.

M3 partners work together each year to encourage MPS high school seniors and their families to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The pandemic that continued during the 2020–21 school year brought added urgency to these efforts. A decline in FAFSA completion rates among the MPS Class of 2021 mirrored nationwide trends among school districts serving large percentages of students of color or low-income students. Countermeasures to this decline were needed.

In March 2021, the M3 partnership received boosts through grants from Northwestern Mutual (through the MPS Foundation) and the National College Attainment Network (NCAN). The NCAN grant was earmarked for efforts to encourage FAFSA completion and increase postsecondary enrollment for Class of 2020 and 2021 graduates. This included:

  • Mailings and a phone call campaign to students who had not started the FAFSA.
  • MPS held 10 days of FAFSA in-person support across the district in mid-April, including 24 in-person events at schools and two district-wide events.
  • MPS also hosted district-wide drive-up FAFSA events at four schools in June and July.

MATC and UWM students also will benefit from the Moon Shot for Equity initiative, which was launched by EAB (formerly the Education Advisory Board) in October 2020. Moon Shot for Equity is dedicated to ensuring that underrepresented students graduate from college at the same rate as their peers by 2030. UWM and MATC are two of the southeastern Wisconsin institutions involved in this initiative. The initial focus of this work is on addressing obstacles or issues that impact current students and future MPS classes for years to come. This includes:

  • Retention grants that can help students pay for unforeseen expenses that might prevent them from finishing college.
  • Reviewing enrollment holds that can prevent students from registering for classes for administrative or financial reasons.
  • Using technology to coordinate resources for students across campus, including tutoring, counseling, and advising.