To help increase college access and affordability, the Missouri Department of Higher Education & Workforce Development launched the Missouri FAFSA Completion Project in January 2016.
Through this project, high school administrators and counselors can access a secure, school-specific webpage to identify their seniors who have successfully completed the FAFSA or, more importantly, may need assistance in completing the FAFSA. A sample of the information that can be accessed is available in this step-by-step tutorial.
Participation in the project is a two-step process.
Step 1. Download and complete the fillable FAFSA Data Access Agreement.
School districts participating in the Missouri FAFSA Completion Project must agree to maintain compliance with the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act, use the secured information only for its intended purpose, and limit access to authorized individuals. The FAFSA Data Access Agreement is a contract between a superintendent on behalf of the district and the commissioner of higher education on behalf of MDHEWD that outlines the project’s terms and conditions.
To complete the agreement:
1. Read the agreement in its entirety. You may email questions about the project or the agreement to Paula Clay at FAFSACompletionProject@dhewd.mo.gov or call (573) 522-6285.
2. Complete the fields on page 1:
- Complete the name of the school district in the header.
- Complete the first paragraph, including the name of the school district and the district’s full address. The name of the school district in the first paragraph should match the name completed in the header. Also, be sure to include the street number as well as the street name.
3. Complete the superintendent’s information on page 8:
- The agreement must be signed and dated by the superintendent. The signature of another administrator is not acceptable.
- Provide the printed name of the superintendent.
4. Complete Attachment A:
- Attachment A must have the contact information of the superintendent and district contact.
- Attachment A must be signed and dated by the superintendent. The signature of another administrator is not acceptable.
- Provide the name, job title, building/school and email address of each district employee authorized to access the confidential information available through this project. The building/school must be a high school that is included in the list of schools provided in the online registration form required to obtain a user ID and password (see Step 2 below). It cannot be a district, administrative office, middle school or vocational-technical center.
- Superintendents may designate as many authorized employees as necessary. An additional page listing authorized employees may be attached to the agreement, if needed.
5. Submit the completed agreement by mail, email or fax:
Missouri Department of Higher Education & Workforce Development
Attn: Missouri FAFSA Completion Project
P.O. Box 1469
Jefferson City, MO 65102-1469
FAFSACompletionProject@dhewd.mo.gov
Fax to the attention of Paula Clay at (573) 751-6635.
Step 2. Register online for a user ID and password. This step applies to all district employees listed in Attachment A.
- The Missouri Department of Higher Education & Workforce Development offers two electronic systems for high schools. The first is the FAMOUS-High School application, which provides state student financial aid eligibility information for high school seniors. The second is the High School FAFSA Report, which provides student-specific FAFSA completion information through the Missouri FAFSA Completion Project. The instructions for completing the registration process depend on whether you currently have a user ID to access the FAMOUS-High School application. If you do not currently have a user ID, the instructions further depend on whether you are requesting access to only the High School FAFSA Report, or both the High School FAFSA Report and the FAMOUS-High School application.
- I currently do not have access to the FAMOUS-High School application. I want access to the High School FAFSA Report - Click here for registration instructions.
- I currently have access to the FAMOUS-High School application. I want to add access to the High School FAFSA Report to my existing account - Click here for registration instructions.
- The online registration form requests the individual’s name and job title. These should match exactly the name and job title indicated in Attachment A of the agreement.
Upon receipt of the completed agreement and the online registrations for a district’s authorized employees, MDHEWD will grant access to the secured information for the high school(s) in the district. To expedite the approval process, MDHEWD encourages the individuals listed in Appendix A to complete the online registration process before the district submits the completed agreement to the department.
There is no deadline for completing either Step 1 or Step 2. However early registration is encouraged so districts can help students as early as possible in the financial aid application process.