CICU was proud to be a co-sponsor of the FAFSA Completion Summit, which was convened by Governor Kathy Hochul, to discuss strategies for students to complete the simplified FAFSA application. CICU President Lola W. Brabham joined the NYS Deputy Secretary for Higher Education, the Chancellors of SUNY – The State University of New York and The City University of New York, the New York State Education Department, the President of the Higher Education Services Corporation, the Chair of the Assembly Higher Education Committee, Assemblymember Patricia A. Fahy, and Assemblymember Jonathan Jacobson.
The summit, held in Albany, brought together key stakeholders, including high school guidance counselors, to discuss changes to the federal aid application, while strategizing ways to increase the FAFSA completion rate in New York State, which hovers around 50 percent. In New York State alone, the class of 2022 missed out on $200 million in federal aid by not completing the FAFSA. Studies have shown that students completing the FAFSA are more likely to attend college. About 90 percent of high school seniors who complete the FAFSA go to college directly after graduation, compared to just 55 percent of graduating seniors who do not complete the application.