We know that the Class of 2020 dealt with a lot of issues with regards to the postsecondary transition process. On the upside, as of September 1, Iowa has the 2nd highest year-over-year FAFSA completion rate in the nation.  We are within .33% of our rate at this time last year - thank you for your work in supporting students with this critically important task!
Iowa is beginning to examine the postsecondary enrollment data for fall 2020, and as expected, are seeing declines in most sectors of higher education. We will be able to look at this more comprehensively during the month of September. Our focus now turns to supporting the Class of 2021. While many of you are already connecting with your current seniors, AEA PREP is sharing this updated resource to assist you in organizing and focusing your response to the needs of your seniors as we begin the 2021 school year, knowing that this year’s process will look very different than it has in years past. 
The work outlined in this five step plan should be done in collaboration with a team of educators consisting of school personnel with additional capacity or existing relationships with students who can share in this work. Creating a Postsecondary Response Team to support your school’s efforts should be your first step, followed by a brief data collection period to get an updated sense of your students’ postsecondary plans.
The PDF linked below outlines the five step plan for you and is a reference for all of the videos in this series.