Federal Resources

Using survey data from approximately 95,000 undergraduate and 16,000 graduate students, this report from the Department of Education provides information on the percentages of students receiving various types of financial aid and how much they received, by institution, attendance pattern, dependency status, and income level. The study indicates that 71% of undergraduates and 70% of graduates received some type of financial aid.

Forty-eight schools were honored as 2014 Green Ribbon Schools for their exemplary efforts to reduce environmental impact and utility costs, promote better health, and ensure effective environmental education, including civics and green career pathways. In addition, nine districts were honored for the District Sustainability Award. 

The Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) collects data on key education and civil rights issues in public schools in the United States and drives the focus of related equity and program evaluation efforts. The 2011–12 CRDC marks the first time that data were collected from every public school in the nation. Striking findings from the 2011–12 collection include disparities in high school retention, access to college counselors, and access to courses necessary for college.

Developed by SEVP, a new report, “SEVIS by the Numbers” (PDF, 33 pages), illustrates the latest data from the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), a website that provides information about international students, exchange visitors, and their dependents while they are in the United States. The report includes information about the number of students, where they are from, where they are attending school, and what they are studying. SEVP also launched a new interactive mapping tool that allows users to explore international student data included in the report. 

This blog post, from a representative from the Office of Federal Student Aid, features advice on paying off student loans faster. Tips include signing up for an automatic debit payment plan and using tax refunds to pay off of part of a loan. 

This blog entry provides ideas for how counselors and other school professionals can promote the completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at their high school or college campus. Examples include using social media and hosting a FAFSA night on campus. 

Borrowers who default on still have options. This blog post outlines steps that borrowers can take to get their loans back in good standing, including loan repayment, rehabilitation, and consolidation. 

This blog entry outlines seven common errors that students make when completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and presents resources to help them avoid these mistakes. 

Based on the lessons learned from the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative, the toolkit cultivates an approach that has left a legacy of success in schools and communities. This toolkit will show you how partnerships with representatives from sectors including education, law enforcement, mental health, juvenile justice, children’s services, families, and faith-based associations can take Three Bold Steps to create positive lasting change among our nation’s students.

This blog post from the Department of Education features information for students on the next steps they should take after they have completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). 

This blog post and video from the Department of Education can help students and recent graduates understand the details of loan repayment, including when repayment starts, who to pay, how much to pay, and how to make payments. 

The Secretary of Education Arne Duncan shares his advice for students when picking a college, laid out in five steps.

This blog entry outlines the four things recent graduates should do as they prepare to make their first student loan payment: get organized, contact the loan servicer, estimate monthly payments, and select a repayment plan. Learn more.

This program supports the creation of community learning centers that provide academic enrichment opportunities for children, particularly students who attend high-poverty and low performing schools. The program: helps students meet state and local student standards in core academic subjects, such as reading and math; offers students a broad array of enrichment activities that can complement their regular academic programs; and offers literacy and other educational services to the families of participating children.

Talla Hashemi, a junior at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and ED intern, shares why attending community college, and then transferring to a four-year university,  was the best choice for her. 

This guide has been developed to give higher education institutions a useful resource in the field of emergency management.

According to new data from NCES, graduation rates for black and Hispanic students increased by nearly four percentage points from 2011 to 2013, outpacing the growth for all students in the nation. The data also show that the gap between white students and black and Hispanic students receiving high school diplomas narrowed over that time.

The Department of Labor conducted an analysis that examines how the relationship between high school courses and college attendance may have changed between the late 1970s and the late 1990s. As time progressed, students began taking more rigorous coursework and that became a high predictor of who was likely to attend college. In the late 1970s, however, fewer students took advanced courses and the rigor of the courses did not seem to be a determining factor in college attendance. 

As featured by the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, the University of Minnesota released a study, Academic Achievement Trajectories of Homeless and Highly Mobile Students: Resilience in the Context of Chronic and Acute Risk, which examined academic achievement of students identified as homeless or highly mobile as compared with other students in the federal free meal program, reduced price meals, or neither. This study was partially federally funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Science Foundation. 

This blog post written by a school counselor in South Dakota provides tips for students as they prepare to head off to college. Tips include making a financial plan and ensuring credit is received for high school courses. 

This guide is a companion piece to the Practical Information on Crisis Planning: A Guide for Schools and Communities (above). It emphasizes a valuable part of emergency management planning—ongoing vulnerability assessment—and is intended to assist schools with the selection and implementation of an effective vulnerability assessment tool.

The Adolescent Literacy Research Network is a partnership of The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE), and Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), designed to support each agency's effort to enhance literacy and employment skills of young American adults.

This fact sheet outlines President Obama’s new plan to increase college affordability. Facets of the plan include creating a new ratings system that measures college performance and value; eliminating barriers to competition and innovation, particularly in the use of new technology; and helping student borrowers struggling with their existing debt by capping loan payments at 10 percent of income and directing ED to reach out to students struggling with their loans to make sure they understand their options. 

When filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), borrowers who are considered “dependent students” must provide information about their parents, including information about their identity, living situation, and financial status.

The #AskArnie video series features Secretary Arne Duncan discussing current hot topics in education today. The first episode, titled “Free from Fear,” focuses on gun violence, school safety, and the multiple factors that influence student achievement.