The financial aid office at a community college is often considered the “front door” of education. Yet, for many students, that door has traditionally felt like a barrier, guarded by red tape and intimidating forms.
Edmonds College is among the community colleges that are rewriting the narrative. Through a focused commitment to student support, strategic community outreach and innovative processing, the Washington college’s financial aid department has not only overcome historic challenges but is now directly fueling student success and degree completion.
Tackling the triple whammy
Alicia Mallahan and Dane Olaso, Edmonds’ financial aid director and associate director, stepped into their leadership roles just as the college was hit by what they call the “triple whammy”: the seismic disruptions of the Covid pandemic, the complex implementation of the new ctcLink software (the system used by the state’s 34 community and technical colleges to manage student information, finance and human resources), and the chaotic national rollout of the simplified FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).
Instead of shrinking back, the team centered its operation on three core principles: supporting students, ensuring compliance and disbursing funds. The group believed that by building trust and rapport with students during times of extreme uncertainty, it could overcome technical failures. This foundational commitment to individualized, student-centered service is the secret behind their impressive turnaround.
“Our service model prioritizes the student’s experience and treats them as individuals,” said Edmonds President Amit B. Singh. “The success of our financial aid department stems from strong leadership and support from so many on campus. We are fortunate to have a team in place that is eager to serve students and distribute financial aid with fewer barriers.”
Olaso told the Edmonds’ board of trustees at a meeting in October that giving money to students is the fun part of the job.
“Helping them pay for college, their textbooks and perhaps unexpected things that come up mid-year, our team is very proud as we move forward to help all of our students,” he said.
Expanding access
According to the National College Attainment Network tracker, 45.6% of 2025 seniors in Washington state completed the FAFSA, ranking 47th among states and falling below the national average of 59.8%. As noted in a recent Seattle Times article, this trend has worried Gov. Bob Ferguson, as Washington faces projected shortfalls in skilled workers with jobs requiring postsecondary education by 2032.
The financial aid team at Edmonds understood that to help more students, it couldn’t wait for students to walk through the door. The team took its expertise into the community, fundamentally improving access to critical aid.
The department targeted internal partnerships by establishing bi-weekly financial aid workshops with the pre-college department and quarterly workshops with the workforce department, proactively reaching students who need funding the most. In a significant equity initiative, the team began conducting financial aid workshops directly at the Monroe Correctional Facility to counsel incarcerated individuals on the Second Chance Pell program, which extends educational opportunities to an underserved population.
Driven by a partnership with the Edmonds School District, the financial aid team has worked to enhance high school and community integration, regularly offering multilingual (English, Spanish, Urdu and Hindi) financial aid workshops at local high schools.
The outreach has raised Edmonds College’s community profile as the go-to expert, helping students apply for financial aid regardless of which institution they choose. The strategic outreach is already paying off: the Edmonds School District’s FAFSA completion rate is 4 percentage points higher than that of other districts in the area.
The college’s concerted effort has resulted in a significant increase in financial aid applications. By mid-October, Edmonds had processed 6,569 FAFSA applications, representing an increase of more than 50% from the previous year — a counter-trend to the national decline seen after the botched FAFSA simplification rollout for the 2024-25 application cycle.
“Last year, FAFSA was delayed two to three months,” Olaso said. “When it came out, students were unable to include their parents, which led to numerous roadblocks. Many students nationwide just said, ‘I’m not going to bother with it.’ This led to a nationwide drop of 30% to 40% in applications.
“We were actually above the curve because we continued to support students throughout the year,” Olaso continued. “We were encouraging students to fill out the WASFA (Washington Application for State Financial Aid) while the Department of Education was trying to figure out how to get the FAFSA to work.”
The $20M difference
The true measure of the department’s success is the sheer volume of support it delivers to students. For the last academic year, the financial aid office, in partnership with the business office, dispersed $19.2 million in total financial aid. The funding, which includes Pell grants, Washington College grants, workforce funds, scholarships and federal veterans’ benefits, provides critical support for tuition, textbooks, housing and rent.
To ensure students have the funds when they need them most, the team has implemented an innovative disbursement system. Unlike many schools that disperse aid only twice a week, Edmonds disperses funds Monday through Thursday during the first two weeks of every quarter.
It also implemented batch processing in ctcLink, which allows the team to deliver financial aid offers approximately 20% faster than neighboring institutions. The efficiency has resulted in a $1.5 million increase in total aid dispersed compared to the prior year, a number that continues to grow daily.
While increasing grant aid is a priority, the team also successfully implemented policies to protect students from unnecessary debt. Alarmed by a noticeable rise in loan requests, the department enacted a policy requiring any student seeking a federal loan to meet with staff or provide a photo ID.
This personal counseling approach has been highly effective in reducing the total number of loan recipients. Staff counsel students on what’s best for them financially and what they realistically need to borrow to make it through the year. The school is on track to stay below last year’s total of 350 loan recipients, at a cost of $2.3 million.
“We love to see students coming to our campus, but we love to see them being able to leave as debt-free as possible,” Mallahan said. “We’re encouraging students to use grant funding instead, and we’re promoting available scholarships through our foundation.”
Persistence and completion
Edmonds’ financial aid team doesn’t just process paperwork; it removes financial anxiety, enabling students to focus on learning, persist through challenges and confidently complete their education. Student outcomes show the most compelling evidence of that approach.
Pell Grant recipients at Edmonds are showing a slight but consistent improvement in their course-pass rates each year, reaching 84% this past year, compared to 80% for all students. Pell students are more likely to achieve completion rates than the general population, meaning they are returning for subsequent quarters and staying enrolled long enough to graduate.
In a significant achievement, Pell recipients — students who often face the most substantial financial and life challenges, requiring them to balance school, work and family — now complete their degrees at the same rate as the general student population. The number of Pell recipients earning a degree jumped from 302 to 386 in the most recent academic year.
“Pell students are those who have to work an extra job so they can go to school. They’re worried about ‘Where am I getting money for housing?’” Mallahan said. “For these students to be able to complete their degree at the same rate as our general population is a significant achievement for us.”
