Aspiration
Post-Secondary Aspirations
Post-secondary aspirations reflect the plans seniors report for life after high school, based on responses from the Senior Exit Survey. This data provides insight into students’ intended pathways, including college, skilled trades, military service, or direct entry into the workforce.
Understanding student aspirations helps establish a baseline for the goals students set before graduation and provides important context for the data that follows. The Affordability, Access, and Attainment sections that follow examine how financial aid, enrollment, and credential completion align with—and support—students’ stated post-secondary plans.
Data Source: Senior Exit Survey
Affordability
FAFSA Completion Rates
Completing the FAFSA is a critical step in making post-secondary education affordable. FAFSA completion determines student eligibility for federal, state, and institutional financial aid—including grants, scholarships, and work-study—often making the difference in whether students can enroll and persist after high school.
Each year, the College and Career Access Center sets FAFSA completion goals based on senior profile survey data and the post-secondary plans of each graduating class. The data shown reflects progress toward those goals and helps identify opportunities for targeted outreach and support for students and families.
Data Source: https://studentaid.gov/
FAFSA Submission Rates by Affinity Groups
Starting with the Class of 2023, we began tracking FAFSA submission rates for key student groups—including students of color, economically disadvantaged students, and first-generation students—to better understand and address the affordability gap. Monitoring these rates helps us identify where additional support may be needed and evaluate the impact of outreach efforts for students who face the greatest financial barriers. These submission rates are sourced from CCAC’s internal data trackers.
Data Source: Internal Data Trackers
Michigan Tuition Incentive Program (TIP)
The Michigan Tuition Incentive Program (TIP) is a state-funded scholarship that supports college affordability for economically disadvantaged students. TIP helps cover tuition costs at Michigan community colleges and select four-year institutions, reducing financial barriers to post-secondary enrollment.
TIP participation is an important measure of affordability for students who qualify for this program. Because completing the FAFSA is required to receive TIP, CCAC tracks the percentage of TIP-eligible seniors who complete the FAFSA to better understand access to financial aid and identify opportunities for targeted student and family support.
Data Source: MiSSG and Internal Data Trackers
DATA SOURCE: https://www.michigan.gov/mistudentai
Access
Post-Secondary Enrollment (Access)
CCAC tracks post-secondary enrollment to understand how many students successfully transition to education or training within six months of high school graduation. This data helps measure access to 2- and 4-year colleges and other post-secondary pathways.
Disaggregating enrollment data allows us to better understand outcomes for economically disadvantaged students and students of color, identify equity gaps, and inform targeted supports. Reviewing this data supports continuous improvement efforts aimed at expanding access and ensuring all students have the opportunity to reach their post-secondary goals.
Data for the most recent graduating class typically becomes available in late spring each year through the MI School Data website.
Data Source: https://www.mischooldata.org/
Attainment
Post-Secondary Completion Rate (Attainment)
CCAC tracks the percentage of students who earn a post-secondary credential within 4 and 6 years of high school graduation. This data provides insight into long-term student success beyond enrollment, showing whether students are completing college, training programs, or other recognized post-secondary credentials.
Tracking attainment helps identify trends, inform supports for students after high school, and guide efforts to increase credential completion—especially for economically disadvantaged students and students of color. Data for each graduating class becomes available once a full 6-year cycle is complete and is sourced from the MI School Data website.
Data Source: https://www.mischooldata.org/
MI School Data Post-Secondary Parent Dashboard
This Parent Dashboard provides easy access to valuable student and school information to guide decisions and encourage conversations. This includes student-to-staff ratio, college completion/persistence, attendance information, and more. Click on the heading above to explore the MI School Parent Dashboard.
The U.S. Census Bureau Data provides a variety of information and data points about the population of Jackson County, Michigan including employment and post-secondary attainment rates. Click on the heading above to explore the U.S. Census Bureau Data.