SRU financial aid messaging adopted by state dept.
SLIPPERY ROCK — Pennsylvania has one of the highest student loan debts in the nation, and paying for college is one of the biggest barriers keeping potential students from pursuing higher education.
About 3,000 of the 9,000 students at Slippery Rock University receive the federal Pell Grant each year, which does not have to be repaid, except under certain circumstances, and is awarded to students based on their submission of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
Bill Behre, president of the university, said Slippery Rock has a “very high rate” of students who fill out the FAFSA each year. This is in part due to the university’s FAFSA Go team, which is comprised of about five students who work with their peers to promote the purpose of the FAFSA.
“They make calls to homes, talk to people around campus, all run through the student financial aid office,” said Alyssa Dobson, director of financial aid and scholarships at SRU. “It’s all peer to peer, so it’s students helping other students through the process,”
Soon, other schools across the state will form their own FAFSA Go teams, to urge college students to apply so the billions of dollars available through the Pell Grant each year go to people in need.
Tanya I. Garcia, deputy secretary and commissioner for post-secondary and higher education for the department of education, visited Slippery Rock University on Monday to discuss the partnership with the school and its FAFSA team, the model for which will be adapted at other schools in Pennsylvania.
“Over the past few years, FAFSA completion has been down, and millions of dollars have been left on the table by Pennsylvania learners,” Garcia said. “We want to make sure that all students who are eligible to complete a FAFSA get the assistance they need to access affordable higher education.”
Behre said during the conference with Garcia on Monday that the university’s financial aid office will work with the department of education to bring the peer-to-peer sharing methods to other universities.
“It’s going to be them helping other schools create their own FAFSA peer-to-peer teams,” Behre said.
According to Dobson, the FAFSA Go team at SRU works throughout the year to promote the FAFSA, even though its annual deadline is in May.
Garcia said the teams to be formed at other universities will also promote the FAFSA to graduating high school students, some of whom may be questioning their ability to pursue higher education.
“In many ways, that’s the wrong question to ask,” Garcia said about students asking if college is worth it. “We know learners from low-income families may need money to leverage their education, so we are aligned in efforts to increase affordability for colleges.
“We know in these times that you need to emerge with a degree to even enter the middle class.”
Garcia said after the conference that Go teams operating throughout the state will help promote the availability of grants and financial aid not only to high school students, but also to students already in college.
“We want those who are already in college to keep getting it each year,” Garcia said. “Part of our role is to increase awareness of the opportunities available to them.”
