In the aftermath of the U.S. Department of Education鈥檚 FAFSA form delays, financial aid application submissions are down at public universities in North Carolina.
The North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority (NCSEAA) reports a 10% to the state鈥檚 public universities compared to last year. Historically Minority-Serving Institutions in the UNC System have been hit particularly hard, with a 13% decrease.
The U.S. Department of Education released its new FAFSA form in late December. What was advertised as a simplified form meant to streamline applications was instead an error-filled process that led to complications for students, their families, and university administrators. Like Sharon Oliver, the associate vice chancellor for enrollment at North Carolina Central University.
鈥淎 significant concern for our institution is the overall impact on enrollment for the incoming class of 2024,鈥� Oliver said at a UNC Board of Governors committee meeting Wednesday. 鈥�(As a university) serving and supporting a high percentage of Pell Grant students, as well as first generation students, financial aid is a lifeline to financial clearance and validation.鈥�
Universities use the FAFSA form to create packages that combine financial aid funds. That includes state and federal financial aid awards for students with lower household incomes, such as federal Pell Grants and the state鈥檚 Next NC Scholarship.
Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce held a panel on FAFSA delays. One of the administrators who testified at the hearing was from a UNC System School.
Rachelle Feldman, vice chancellor for enrollment at UNC-Chapel Hill, testified that first-generation students, along with low-income, rural and students of immigrant parents are .
鈥�(Students) who鈥檝e heard all their life that college is out of their reach,鈥� Feldman said in the April hearing. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e worked hard for 12 years, but all the voices around them are saying they can鈥檛 afford it. And we can鈥檛 get them the document that proves they can.鈥�
However, the FAFSA delay doesn鈥檛 seem to have made a drastic impact on UNC鈥檚 enrollment numbers for next school year. At a UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees meeting last week, Interim Chancellor Lee Roberts said the university's yield rate 鈥� or the percentage of admitted students who enrolled 鈥� is up by 3% compared to last year.
This statistic is not the same for some of the state鈥檚 Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Although applications are up for the HBCUs compared to previous years, Oliver said how many actually enroll at N.C. Central could depend on completed FAFSA applications.
鈥�'Will our students be able to pay for college this fall?' is the question at hand for us,鈥� Oliver said. 鈥淚f our students are unable to gain access to financial aid, we will experience a decrease in enrollment.鈥�
According to the NCSEAA, FAFSA form completions for potential new students for Historically Minority-Serving Institutions in the UNC System are down by 17%.
However, administrators from most of the System鈥檚 HBCUs said they are more so worried about the decline in submissions for returning students.
Farrah Ward, the vice chancellor for academic affairs at Elizabeth City State University, said there鈥檚 been a 30% decrease in completed FAFSA applications for its continuing students.
鈥淭he issue really started with our continuing students, which we weren鈥檛 initially focused on,鈥� Ward said at the Board of Governors committee meeting. 鈥淲e thought that the new students were our real primary population 鈥� but our continuing students were lagging significantly behind.鈥�
ECSU has since created and strengthened several outreach strategies to counteract lowering FAFSA applications. This includes hosting FAFSA nights, launching text messaging campaigns and hiring a financial aid advisor to help students experiencing form complications.
N.C. Central and North Carolina A&T State University, as well as HBCUs , have made similar moves.
Joseph Montgomery, N.C. A&T鈥檚 associate vice provost for enrollment, said it鈥檒l take a lot of work over the summer, but the university is working hard to reverse the FAFSA completion trend.
鈥淲e have to make certain that we have enough people resources to implement all the strategies that we're trying to deploy,鈥� Montgomery told the Board of Governors. 鈥淢aking certain we use those resources appropriately to ensure that we do get to the end. There is this window of time that. If we execute flawlessly, we should be okay.鈥�
