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Washington council outlines statewide FAFSA campaign with 46,000‑completion goal
Summary
Council staff described a data-driven FAFSA outreach campaign launched under a gubernatorial executive order, aiming for 46,000 additional FAFSA completions and a public dashboard to track progress; members asked for school-level breakdowns and outreach support.
The Washington Student Achievement Council spent a large portion of its meeting reviewing a statewide FAFSA outreach campaign launched under an executive order and designed to raise postsecondary financial‑aid applications and close equity gaps.
Isaac Kvartje, deputy executive director, told the council the campaign is being run with a businesslike framework: clear, measurable goals; weekly agency implementation meetings; and a public dashboard so partners can see progress in near real time. "We have a very, very goal to ensure that 46,000" additional FAFSA completions are achieved this cycle, Isaac said, explaining the target was chosen as an "actionable" rather than purely aspirational figure.
The campaign team reported early progress: as of January 2025, the statewide FAFSA completion rate had risen compared with the previous year, and staff said 76 of 150 high schools had increased their FAFSA completion rate by at least 6 percentage points. Isaac said the FAFSA cycle runs through September and emphasized that staff are using real‑time data to target underperforming schools with outreach and support.
Council members pressed staff for context and follow‑up data. Members asked whether the 46,000 target is a share of the state population or an absolute count; Isaac said the figure was based on historical completion trends and an achievable uplift across districts. Members also asked how many of the 76 high schools were simply returning to prior levels after temporary dips; staff said that will be part of the end‑of‑campaign analysis.
A student witness described the personal stakes of financial aid. "With no financial aid, there was no college for me," the student said, recounting how aid enabled continued education and urging broader outreach. The council emphasized that the campaign is not a single‑agency effort and asked members and guests to sign up to use the campaign's communications assets, including short videos and a marketing plan, and to work with staff to reach specific schools.
Next steps: staff will continue weekly implementation meetings, refine local targeting using dashboard data, produce an end‑of‑campaign evaluation, and supply the council with school‑level breakdowns for later meetings.
