MCAN Executive Director Ryan Fewins-Bliss testified on SB 463, Universal FAFSA, before the Michigan House Education Committee meeting on Dec. 10, 2024. Below are his remarks, as prepared for delivery.
View committee video → (Ryan's remarks begin at 23:25)
Good afternoon, Chair Koleszar, Vice Chairs Churches and Greene, and members of the committee. Thank you for allowing me to testify today.
I’m Ryan Fewins-Bliss, executive director at Michigan College Access Network, known as MCAN. MCAN supports universal FAFSA and the bill in its latest form and encourages you to recommend it for passage in the full House. You should have in front of you a packet of information with your district data to help you as you think about this issue along with other relevant materials.
FAFSA is about information. It provides facts that help students and families make choices. I have three children – and my oldest is a high school senior this year. She’s trying to make her choice about what comes next. I want my child to have all options possible for her future and to understand the pathways that can get her where she wants to go. Then, with all of the pertinent information, she can choose her own destiny.
She can only do that if she has all of the information. When students don’t complete the FAFSA, they don’t have all of the information. And then we adults demand that they make high-stakes decisions about their future while missing critical pieces of the puzzle. That’s what my child deserves, and that’s what your children deserve. That’s what all children deserve, but not all Michigan children are getting that today.
When understanding how to best help kids, the research is pretty consistent over time. It won’t surprise you, but it all boils down to more caring adults providing good advice and support. Schools are uniquely positioned to be, and in fact already are, serving as caring adults providing good advice to kids. This is why we know that the best way to increase FAFSA completion in Michigan – and get more students into college to produce more talent for employers – is to connect FAFSA submission to the place that has the most trained, caring adults supporting students: their high schools. This is not a new or experimental policy. Fifteen states have implemented universal FAFSA by law or policy because it works.
Students deserve choice about their futures. When I talk about choice, I’m not necessarily talking about the choice between MSU and U of M. The FAFSA unlocks financial aid at 160 of Michigan’s universities, community colleges, tribal colleges, and skilled trade programs – many of the programs that are part of our workforce development system. Students who are interested in training that isn’t a four-year degree can benefit significantly from FAFSA submission – especially since these programs are often still quite expensive. For students to take advantage of our new Community College Guarantee, allowing them free community college tuition and fees within their local district, they must complete the FAFSA. These are the choices they get to make college vs. no college – certificate vs. degree - 2-year vs. 4-year – public vs. private.
I know you probably have heard some concerns about this legislation. One of the concerns is that we shouldn’t be forcing all students to do college-going activities if they’ve already decided that they don’t want to attend college. That concern hides our actual problem which is not that we force students to complete the FAFSA who have no intention of going to college – it’s that we allow students not to complete the FAFSA who have no belief that they ever could have gotten to college in the first place. This isn’t an example of forcing students to do something they have already made an active decision about; it’s about supporting students to do something that they’ve ruled out as not within their reach before a decision can even be made.
Another concern we’ve heard is about how this policy will affect students with disabilities, undocumented students, students who have experienced foster care, and other students with vulnerable demographics. The data from the states that have implemented this legislation shows that there are incredible gains in FAFSA completion by these populations who are often the groups that benefit most from federal and state financial aid. This policy helps these students, not hurts them. I’ve even had people tell me that this policy hurts Black students and families. We don’t protect our most vulnerable children by withholding the same information and support that other kids are getting. That’s just oppression disguised in equity wrapping paper. Fewer students of color in college does not protect anyone other than the those whose social privilege has traditionally reserved them their place on campus.
I’ll end with a story from one of our college advisers, an AmeriCorps member we’ve placed in a high school in a Macomb County school district to help with college-going activities. This is their story:
“I had a student earlier this year who was adamant that she would not qualify for federal aid and that there was no point in doing the FAFSA or completing college applications since she did not want to go into debt and she knew her parents would not help her. She believed her parents made too much. She was hesitant. She avoided me in the halls. She would not come down when I requested her to come to my office. She despised conversations regarding this topic. I wanted to help, but there was only so much I could do. I told her that if she did not feel comfortable or did not want to speak on this matter further, that’s okay - but only after I explain how and why FAFSA works. It got through to her. The persistence PAID OFF. She finally was ready to start a college application and start her FAFSA. Her body expression changed, she was smiling and actually eager to meet with me. The possibility of even having some aid available was more than enough for her to try. We met and I helped her submit her FAFSA, and she ended up being eligible for the Michigan Achievement Scholarship. She then applied to Northern Michigan University and the University of Michigan. She was ecstatic. She was so hopeful and grateful. She told me that I changed her life. I thought that was a bit dramatic, but in a sense, I think I did alter her plans a little.”
This is what this legislation can help us do for all students. And when you make it law, MCAN will go immediately into action to help every school district implement this with every resource we can muster. We won’t leave them hanging.
Thank you.
MCAN Executive Director Ryan Fewins-Bliss testified on SB 463, Universal FAFSA, before the Michigan House Education Committee meeting on Dec. 10, 2024.