Advocates for higher education in Alabama are mobilizing to ensure students have the support they need for federal student aid applications this summer.

Delays in the release of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid have left many college-bound students in limbo about their financial aid eligibility.

Chandra Scott, executive director of the nonprofit Alabama Possible, said only about 42% of high school seniors applied for FAFSA this year, down sharply from 2023.

"That's still, yes, going in the right direction," Scott acknowledged. "But there's a lot of students who are still left behind, when that's really a 23% decline compared to last year. So, there's still a lot of work to be done."

Scott explained issues like the FAFSA's delayed rollout, technical glitches and slower college responses contributed to the challenges. Some parents even opted out of completing the FAFSA to avoid delaying their children's graduation. Despite these hurdles, Alabama ranks 16th in the nation for FAFSA completion.

With summer approaching, Scott pointed out many students will not have their school guidance counselors to lean on, but she wants families to know it isn't too late to start the application process, and help will be available throughout the state.

"We want to tell those students and those families you can still go back and complete the FAFSA, even though you completed the waiver," Scott emphasized. "Do not forget that is still a possibility."

Scott outlined plans to support students over the summer. She explained Alabama Possible is ramping up partnerships with counselors and career coaches, increasing outreach, and offering assistance through its Alabama Goes to College help desk and text message system.

"We have team members who are very well in depth of knowledge on how to complete those questions and really get them to support they need to complete it," Scott noted. "When you do reach out to us, you are getting an actual person to support you through that process."

She added help is available to students and families statewide, including for returning college students who may have questions about the FAFSA. Nationwide, just over 40% of students have completed their FAFSA, a nearly 16% drop from 2023.

A new center coming to Utah State University this fall will provide accessible digital materials to students with disabilities.

Cynthia Curry, director of the National Center on Accessible Digital Educational Materials and Instruction, or NCADEMI, said the facility will address, what she calls, the "longstanding and historical issues" around access to educational materials for students with disabilities. She added the role of NCADEMI is to help ensure those with disabilities receive digital educational materials in a way that they can use them.

"The standard way that a lot of educational materials are produced and provided to students, inherently have those barriers to students with sensory disabilities, physical disabilities and learning disabilities. NCADEMI is a technical assistance center that sets out to provide support and services specifically to educational agencies," she explained.

Curry said NCADEMI will help educational agencies conduct accessibility reviews of materials before they reach students and will support techniques in creating other materials. NCADMI is funded by a four-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs. It's slated to open October first.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice issued final accessibility rules for websites and mobile applications of state and local governments. Brenda Smith, the center's principal investigator, said the initiative will work with two existing national programs: Web Accessibility In Mind and the Center for Technical Assistance and Excellence in Special Education, or TAESE, to help schools come into compliance.

"NCADMI is a collaboration between our two projects. Our proposal was written with staff from both projects and so it really is marrying our ability to meet federal special education requirements in our previous work with state special education departments and school districts with the WebAIM content knowledge around accessibility," she continued.

Leaders say by the end of the four-year project they want to ensure they've helped the education sector at various levels tap into cultivating accessible, digital educational materials. They say the processes and systems they will foster will have the potential to be adopted and scaled nationally.


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Alabama's universities and community colleges will receive increased funding for 2025.

The state's universities are set to get a 7% boost equivalent to about $100 million.

Jim Purcell, executive director of the Alabama Commission on Higher Education, said during a quarterly meeting he expressed satisfaction with the outcome in the state Legislature. He stressed it came close to achieving its funding target.

"We had made budget recommendations relatively close but as you know, some people have better politics than others," Purcell acknowledged. "It's not exact science."

The commission also saw budget increases bolstering the state's student assistance program and allocated additional funds to aid in FAFSA completion for prospective college students.

Despite increased funding for schools, Purcell stated Alabama is lagging behind in terms of state aid for higher education. In 2023, Alabama allocated the smallest percentage of its education funding for financial aid compared to most states, except for Hawaii and Montana.

"State aid in this state is problematic and we've been working hard to increase it," Purcell asserted. "Gov. Ivey has increased need-based aid, tripled it since she's been in office."

The national average for need-based aid allocation is about 10%.


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President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have different views on most issues, and student loan debt is no different. In the Reno-Sparks area, one nonprofit, the Black Community Collective, is in favor of what Biden's been doing to ease the burden of student loans.

Edward Coleman, executive director of The Black Community Collective, applauds the multiple student-loan relief initiatives that Biden has introduced, most recently announcing nearly $8 billion in forgiveness for undergraduate student-loan borrowers.

Coleman said his own student debt was cut by three-fourths because of Biden's actions.

"Just prior to that, my thought was, 'Well, I'll be paying this back forever.' And now it's like, 'Well, this will be paid off, you know, in a few years and then what am I going to do?'" he explained.

Coleman added the assistance will mean he can be more financially free. New data show that about 18% of adults say student loan debt will have a major influence over their vote in the upcoming election.

Opponents of Biden's forgiveness plans say borrowers should pay back their own debts, especially when other working Americans have done so without government assistance.

Coleman said marginalized communities typically have the smallest amount of resources and are more heavily impacted by what he calls "non-progressive policies," such as Trump's approach. The Legal Defense Fund found that the Black-to-white disparity in student loan debt more than tripled just four years after graduation, making it harder for Black students to accumulate wealth. To Coleman, that isn't fair.

"And then, to be saddled with an unreasonable amount of debt for trying to better yourself so that you can improve your community's life, it feels like a punishment," he said.

Trump has called Biden's forgiveness plans "vile" and suggested that if he returns to the White House, those plans could be reversed.

Despite the Supreme Court's move last summer to kill Biden's mass student-loan forgiveness plan, Coleman said Biden's administration has provided unprecedented relief to borrowers.


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