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Professional Development Opportunities

What you need to know about the Better FAFSA

FAFSA Simplification has been years in the making.  Better FAFSA is on its way next fall, and with it some significant changes that college access professionals will need to know to help students complete a FAFSA.  Join us for this extended session to get an overview of what’s coming and how to prepare.  Bring your questions!

Presenter:  MorraLee Keller, senior director of strategic programming, National College Attainment Network (NCAN)

Host:  Kathy Hastings McDonald, Associate Director for Outreach, North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority

May 17, 2023, 9 – 11 am

Register:  https://zoom.us/webinar/register/9616808969039/WN_C8l6xp8fTBCbHrdX42rnvA

2022-2023 Professional Development Recorded Trainings:

NC FAFSA Tools – FAFSA Tracker and Finish the FAFSA

This session will familiarize counselors and college access professionals with two FAFSA completion tools - the NC FAFSA Tracker and the NC Finish the FAFSA report. You will learn who has access to each tool and how to use them.

Recording:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3CY38KUeaM&list=PLiFGBEf0h3BD5a-ZTNU6vZPvha8i5qfNp&index=4

FAFSA Final Push

Now is the time for one last effort to encourage your students to complete their FAFSA before end of year testing and graduation consumes your schedule.  There aren’t enough hours in the day, so we will talk about the partners you can pull in to help reach those students who haven’t started or completed their FAFSAs.  We’ll also talk about how to leverage the CFNC ProTools college reports, including the Finish the FAFSA report and RDS to target students who still need help.  Finally, we’ll look at how you can leverage what you are already doing – like your senior survey – to do double duty to check in on students and their college-going steps.

Recording:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yx5d3fvPITQ&list=PLiFGBEf0h3BD5a-ZTNU6vZPvha8i5qfNp&index=3

Walk Through the FAFSA

Completing a FAFSA is an important step in preparing for college.  Most college students take advantage of financial aid to help pay for college. The FAFSA unlocks access to that aid at the federal, state, and college level for students who qualify.  In this session we will walk you step-by-step through the online form so you know what to expect.

Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhuFc5tdRnM&t=6s

Supporting students in unique circumstances

Some student populations have unique challenges as they plan and pay for their education beyond high school. In this two-part series we bring in experts to help you know how to support these deserving students.

Session 1:  Students with diverse immigration statuses

- Session 1 of a 2-part series

In this session CFNC’s en Español team will cover how to support students impacted by immigration - such as mixed status households, undocumented, and Dacamented - in finding ways to navigate college affordability.

Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcPvFiR5YWc&list=PLiFGBEf0h3BD5a-ZTNU6vZPvha8i5qfNp&index=1

Session 2:  Students aging out of foster care and McKinney-Vento youth

- Session 2 of a 2-part series

In this session experts will share how to support McKinney-Vento students as they begin to transition into higher education settings. These students have supports available but accessing these supports can be challenging. We will review needed documentation and consider the processes to ensure these students have successful futures.

We will also discuss the NC Reach and ETV programs available to qualified former foster youth to assist with paying for college and providing the support needed so each young adult is successful. NC Reach is a state-funded scholarship offered to qualified applicants for up to 4 years of undergraduate study at NC public colleges and universities. The North Carolina Education and Training Voucher (ETV) Program is a federally funded program offered to qualified applicants for 5 years..

Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NlSPHBgVHI&list=PLiFGBEf0h3BD5a-ZTNU6vZPvha8i5qfNp&index=2