Innovative Strategies
Innovative Strategies
The completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, is a good predictor of a student attending and completing higher education. Students who complete the FAFSA are more likely to enroll in higher education, persist in their college coursework, and obtain a degree.
Our goal is to increase FAFSA completion in North Carolina by partnering with high schools to ensure students receive as much funding as possible and to meet our statewide education attainment goal! Visit the FAFSA tracker.
2021 Innovation Grant Winners
These North Carolina schools employed innovative strategies to boost their FAFSA completion rate for their senior class, supporting their student community and overcoming many pandemic-related challenges. Select the school below to learn more about their innovative ideas.
Innovative Grant Criteria
The following criteria was used by the committee to determine the winner for most innovative FAFSA completion strategy.
| Criteria | Description |
|---|---|
| Innovative | Strategy is innovative — either trying something new that hasn’t been done before and/or doing something old in a new and more effective way. |
| Student and Family Centered | Strategy is designed empathetically with students and families at the center based on what students and families say they need. |
| Data Driven | Strategy uses available quantitative and qualitative data to set goals, drive decisions, plan, and implement services leading to results. |
| Collective Impact | Strategy actively includes community and/or statewide partners collaborating to shape the strategy and share information/resources to achieve a common goal. |
| Equity | Strategy ensures that every student and family has the support they need to be successful–and seeks out partners to provide this support when needed. |
Celebrate and Share
We’ve put together a social media toolkit with graphics you can use to share these innovative strategies and celebrate the winners.