Students across Alabama are completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, at higher rates, responding well to the Alabama Commission on Higher Education’s effort to boost application rates.
At least 44 percent of Alabama high school seniors completed that form that allows them to apply for Pell Grants and subsidized federal student loans, according to the latest figures cited by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education.
Twenty-five cities recently received up to $40,000 each from the National College Access Network for the 2018–2019 FAFSA Completion Challenge Grant. Among those cities was Mobile, which received one of the grants funded by the Kresge Foundation and Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation & Affiliates.
The challenge specifically focuses on cities in the U.S. with below-average completion rates for the FAFSA.
The Commission approves all new academic programs proposed by the state’s public two- and four-year schools. Because of growing demands in the healthcare industry, which requires more licensed professionals to supply market needs, colleges and universities are responding by proposing more health degrees at all levels.
Commissioners approved an associate’s program in applied science in physical therapy assistant at Lurleen B. Wallace Community College, a bachelor’s degree in health promotion at Troy University and a master’s degree in physical therapy at the University of South Alabama.
