# Presentation: 253708

## College Access Initiative

**Tim Fitzgibbon**
- National Council of Higher Education Loan 	Programs (NCHELP)
**La Toya Sykes**
**Brian McGill**
- College Access Initiative Work Group
*	*

**Session 8**

## College Access Initiative

- Deficit Reduction Act of 2005
- Each guaranty agency shall promote access to postsecondary education by:
- Providing a comprehensive listing of postsecondary education opportunities, programs, publications and other services available in their designated state
- Publicizing information for students and traditionally underrepresented populations on college planning, career preparation, and paying for college

## Background

- The 35 guaranty agencies:
- State and non-profit entities
- Administer the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program
- Inform students and parents of educational and financial aid opportunities
- Provide an extensive range of services and programs that increase awareness of
- Importance of higher education
- Opportunities Available
- Financial support

## Guaranty Agencies Promote Access

- Guaranty agencies
- Reach out to millions of students and families to inform them about how to
- Prepare for college
- Plan for their career
- Pay for their postsecondary education
- Manage their finances
- Work with partners to identify schools and communities with low college-going rates and target specialized services and scholarships to improve those rates

## Guaranty Agencies Promote Access

- Last year, guaranty agencies
- Provided more than six million pieces of college awareness, financial aid and financial literacy materials
- Participated in more than 8,400 financial aid workshops and events that reached more than 900,000 students and families and more than 7,800 school guidance counselors
- 17 agencies actively participate in College Goal Sunday
- 12 agencies operate or support college resource centers
- 7 agencies involved in federal TRIO programs
- 14 agencies directly involved in a state GEAR UP Program

## Examples of Access Programs

- “I’m Going To College” – early awareness program
- Fifth and sixth grade students from schools with large low-income populations
- One month learning about college culminating in a day on a college campus, including interaction with students and professors
- Reached 4000 thousand students in four states in FY 2005

## Examples of Access Programs

- Trailblazer Program
- Comprehensive three-day training workshop presented on a college campus by guaranty agency staff and other financial aid professionals
- Educate about the college admissions process and financial aid
- One high school junior is nominated by each public and non-public high school in the state
- Each Trailblazer shares knowledge of financial aid procedures with peers throughout their senior year of high school

## Examples of Access Programs

- Program for High Schools with a large number of low-income students
- Identify those who would most benefit from additional tutoring and grant incentives
- School’s selection committee focuses on students with potential who may not have sufficient motivation or resources to pursue postsecondary education
- Up to 100 students a year are eligible to earn $6,000 each in scholarships for their postsecondary education

## Examples of Access Programs

- Guaranty agencies partner with a range of organizations (TRIO, GEAR UP, College Goal Sunday, Schools, Community Organizations, Libraries, State Agencies, Churches, YMCAs) to
- Leverage services
- Reach more schools, students and families

## Examples of Access Programs

- Example—Tax Assistance Program (TAP) is provided by a non-profit organization
- Guaranty agency provides intensive training for 1600 TAP tax assistance volunteers
- Volunteers can also assist with FAFSA completion questions
- In 2005, TAP volunteers helped more than 1,100 individuals complete a FAFSA.
- Average TAP client is a single mother with an annual income below $15,000

## Financial Literacy

- Promote Financial Literacy Early in the Process
- Reach Parents Before They Become Parents
- Reach Students Before They Become Borrowers
- Stress Basic Money Management
- Promote Responsible Borrowing
- Ensure Understanding of Return on Investment
- Promote Choices That Recognize Wants vs. Needs

## College Access Initiative - Implementation

- NCHELP—facilitating a work group of guaranty agency representatives—College Access Initiative Work Group
- College Access Initiative Work Group
- Chaired by Steven Brooks, Executive Director of the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority
- Meeting regularly since February to develop implementation plans to fulfill the Initiative’s two main requirements
- Met with representatives from the Office of Postsecondary Education and Federal Student Aid to share ideas and receive feedback

## College Access Initiative - Mission

*Link students and families, especially those from groups underrepresented in higher education, to information and resources that enhance access to college and other higher education programs*
*So they can learn about*
*the college planning process, and*
*the help available to succeed *
*Promote the economic health and well-being of states’ residents and communities*

## College Access Initiative – Promote Access

- College Access Initiative Work Group
- Sharing information and developing best practices
- Working with an advisory committee of college access experts
- Working with the access community to learn more about existing programs and to increase awareness about guaranty agency materials and programs
- Developing resources and forums to help agencies expand their outreach activities to reach a broader number of students, families and organizations

## College Access Initiative – Comprehensive Listing

- College Access Initiative Work Group (continued)
- Creating a central location for students, families and educators to visit—so agencies can display and promote a comprehensive listing of the programs and services in their state
- Reached out to Mapping Your Future, a comprehensive college, financial aid and career planning Web site, which is sponsored by guaranty agencies, to develop a portal—with information for each state

## College Access Initiative – Comprehensive Listing

- Each agency has developed the state-based section for their designated states in a Web site called _**www.going2college.org**_

## Going2college.org Features

- Comprehensive information about
- career planning
- planning for postsecondary education
- finding a college
- paying for college

## Going2college.org Features

- Click on state for visitors to learn where to
- Get help in filling out a FAFSA
- Learn the types of federal and state scholarships and grants available
- Locate organizations and schools that offer early awareness and intervention programs for students, with a special emphasis on low-income and first-generation college students

## Going2college.org Features 

- Details on
- College resources centers in the state
- College information and financial aid awareness events
- Assistance provided to low-income, and first-generation college students through programs including Upward Bound, Talent Search, GEAR UP and Project Grad
- A central location for the extensive postsecondary education resources offered at the local, state and national level

## Going2college.org Features

- Links by each state to a list of the access and outreach programs included in the National College Access Program Directory, hosted by Pathways to College Network and the National College Access Network, that are available in that state.

## Going2college.org Features

- Next Steps
- NCHELP and the work group are promoting the site in conjunction with Federal Student Aid, schools, education associations, state organizations and access program providers
- Help us get the word out!

## “Utah - A State’s Perspective”

- Brian McGill, M.Ed., LPC
- Manager of School & Outreach Services

**  ****College Access**

## Who is UHEAA?

-   UHEAA exercises delegated responsibility for oversight and
-    governance of the student Federal financial aid programs
-    on behalf of the **Utah** **State Board of Regents**.
-   UHEAA provided $25 million back to student borrowers
-    in 2006 through incentives, benefits, grants, & scholarships.
-   UHEAA’s cohort default rate is 2.7%, which is 4th lowest
-    nationally.  The national rate is close to 5%.
-   UHEAA encourages saving for college with our
-     **U**tah **E**ducation **S**avings **P**lan (UESP).
-   UHEAA receives no state appropriated funding.

## UHEAA’s Outreach and College Access Programs

- Began in 2001-2002 with one staff member
- In 2006, through the HERA Mandate, now includes a staff of five.
- 3 Primary & 2 Secondary
- Partner with statewide $9.6 million GEARUP program.
- Gaining Early Awareness & Readiness for Undergraduate Programs
- Encompasses Four Utah Colleges and Universities
- Grades 7 – 12
- First Generational, Low Income, & Ethnic Minority Students
- UtahMentor.org, Going2college.org, StudentTracker, and support materials/resources.

## UHEAA’s Outreach & Access Mission

-    ...is to provide access to college, and to assist all students and parents with making informed decisions about *preparing, participating, completing, and paying* for Higher Education in Utah.

## Access Support & Resources

***UtahMentor.org / going2college.org**** – Free premier sites for college, career, and financial aid planning.*
***StudentTracker**** (National Student Clearinghouse)** – A utility to gather real-time factual data on where students are ****enrolled, retained, and graduated**** from post-secondary education institutions.*
***Counselor Guidance Support**** – Staff that provide student and parent groups statewide, support counselor’s role of required guidance curriculum, support for the SEOP (Student Educational Occupational Plan), statewide workshops, and financial literacy.*
*Emphasis on Admissions & FAFSA assistance*
*Partner with Utah’s Higher Education institutions*
**Organizational Partnerships **– *Educational Boards, USCA, MESA, Communities, Mayoral Offices, Chambers of Commerce, City Councils, etc...*
***Literary Resources**** – Planning for Life After High School (Spanish), UtahMentor, Paying for College Workbooks, HS Senior College Guide Book, & FAFSA publications. *
***ACT/SAT TestPrep Campaign of 2005**** – Provided 10,000 calculators and #2 pencils to high schools across the state of Utah, in conjunction with the Fall ACT Exam dates.*
***ACG Workshops**** – Training for all Utah secondary school counselors.*
***College/Financial Aid Nights**** – Student & Parent workshops (Admissions & FAFSA).*

## UtahMentor.org & Going2college.org

**Post-Secondary Planning Utilities**
**Methodology:** Explore, Plan & Prepare, Apply and Pay for College
- Supports the 7th through 12th grade preparation plan in Utah
**UtahMentor.org (state specific): **
- Primary Interactive College Information Delivery System
- Enables user to save, store, update, add, delete, individual college planning information (ebackpack).
**Going2college.org (national):**
- State by state guide to resources, assistance, and information, relating to post-secondary planning.
- Assists students with out of state college planning information.

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## Paying for College

- Top two indicators, Fall 2006, Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings to Congress
- Helping Students Overcome Barriers
- Educating Students about **All College Options**!
- Work (Full or Part Time), Grants, Scholarships, Work-Study, and Student Loans

- ACCESS

- AFFORDABILITY

## Overcoming Access Barriers

-   Serving Underserved Students
- -Lower Income, Rural, Ethnic Minority, & First Generational
-   Provide Expectations and Opportunities
- State Scholars Initiative
- Academic Rigor
- Alleviate Post-Secondary Remediation
-   Understanding Cultural Differences:
- Behavior, Language, Appearance, Sense of Identity
- REACH Training (Respecting Ethnic and Cultural Heritage)
-   Eliminate “Tracking for Failure”
-   Inadequate Academic Guidance
- -Large Counselor Ratios
-   Tracking Post-Secondary Enrollment, Retention, & Graduation
-   Opening Pathways to College Access
-   Setting High Expectations

- Source:  National Association of Secondary School Principles,
- & Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

## Education and Training PayMedian Income by Education Level

- Institute for Higher Education Policy (2005): *The Investment Payoff, *Appendix 1

## A Changing Workforce

- 90% of jobs providing a wage to **sustain** a family of four typically require some combination of vocational training and on-the-job experience or an associate’s degree.
-   *	**- ACT Ready for College=Ready for Workforce Training, May 2006.*

## A Changing Workforce

- More than 2/3 of new jobs require some postsecondary education

- Source: *Carnevale, Anthony P., and Donna M Desrochers*, Standards for What? The Economic Roots of K-16 Reform, *Educational Testing Service*, 2003.

## Lack of Preparation

- Many high school students are not preparing themselves for college

- The above chart demonstrates the percentage of 21,561 Utah high school students who took the ACT in 2005-2006 and tested ready for their first credit-bearing college-level course in three areas.
- In 2006, only 24 percent of these students tested ready for college-level coursework in _**all three areas**_ (biology, algebra and English comp).
- The number of these students who don’t meet the benchmarks increases between 10th and 12th grades because they aren’t taking rigorous courses their last two years of high school. *(2006 ACT, Measuring College Readiness.)*

**Percent Ready**

## Lack of Participation

- The chance of enrolling in college by age 19 has declined by 11% compared with a national decline of 2%.

| Participation | Utah |  | Top
States
2006 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  | 1992 | 2006 |  |
| Young Adults (60%) |  |  |  |
| 18- to 24-year-olds enrolled in college | 41% | 34% | 41% |
| Working-Age Adults (40%) |  |  |  |
| 25- to 49-year-olds enrolled part-time in any type of postsecondary education | 3.9% | 3.9% | 5.1% |

- **Measuring Up, 2006, **Updated from original Measuring Up Report Card*

## Lack of Participation

- The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, *Policy Alert Supplement “Utah’s Educational Pipeline,” *April 2004

## Lack of Completion

- The percentage of the population holding bachelor’s degrees changes across demographic groups.

- Utah Losing Ground in 2002**Utah ranks 12****th**** in the nation in the 45-64 age group, ****but only 32****st**** in the nation for the 25-34 age group**

|  | Both Sexes |  | Male |  | Female |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Age Group | Utah | U.S. | Utah | U.S. | Utah | U.S. |
| 25 to 34 years | 25.4 | 27.5 | 25.6 | 25.7 | 25.3 | 29.4 |
| 35 to 44 years | 26.3 | 25.9 | 29.8 | 25.8 | 22.7 | 26.0 |
| 45 to 64 years | 30.1 | 26.4 | 35.6 | 29.3 | 24.7 | 23.7 |
| 65 years and over | 19.2 | 15.4 | 26.8 | 20.5 | 13.3 | 11.8 |

- Source: Utah Foundation, June 2004, *Utah’s Higher Education Graduates*

## Lack of Completion

- Source: Bureau of the Census, 2000 (updated 2003)

- Highest Level of Educational Attainment,Age 25+, by Race/Ethnicity

## Percent of Adults with an Associate’s Degree or Higher - 2003

## How are we measuring our program efforts?

- Anecdotal Feedback & Surveys
- Students, Parents, Counselors, etc...
- Site improvements based on feedback
- UtahMentor.org Usage Statistics
- New Milestone of 2.5 million hits in October
- Over 100,000 Student Accounts in four years of operation
- StudentTracker in all Utah High Schools
- Enrollment, retention, and graduation
- Aggregate vs. cohorts

## Over 100,000 

## Over 734,000 

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## Over 30 Million

**Over 30 Million**

## Recent Milestones

- Averaging over 1 Million hits since Oct. ’05
- Over 100,000 Student Accounts Established
- Over 800,000 Individual User Sessions
- Over 30 Million Hits
- Over 13,000 Applications Processed

## Increase Participation

- Implement institutional goals of increasing participation rates by **0.5%** annually
- This translates to **12,000** additional full-time students in five years, system-wide
- This translates to **21,000**** **additional full-time students in 10 years, system-wide

## Increase Completion

- U.S. Department of Education: “The Toolbox Revisited,” cites a ***rigorous course of study, entering college immediately after high school, and completing at least 20 semester hours during first year of college*** translate to a more certain and timely completion of a degree.

## Higher education is central to our well-being as individuals and as a state.

- 	*“**In the agricultural age, postsecondary education was a pipe dream for most Americans. In the industrial age, it was the birthright of only a few. By the space age, it became common for many. Today, it is just common sense for all.”*
- 		-*National Commission on the High School **	**Senior Year*

## UtahMentor.org

- SEOP – Student Educational Occupational Plan (Grades 8-12)Career Exploration
- College Planning (Majors & Campus Exploration)
- Test Preparation (UBSCT, ACT, SAT)
- Admissions Applications
- Paying for College / FAFSA Transfer
- Scholarship Searches
- AP/CE Articulation
- eBackPack (Save, Store, Update, Add, Delete Portfolio)
- Student Tracking & Communications (Counselor Center)
- StudentTracker (Track Success of GEAR UP Students Beyond High School)
- Track Enrollment, Retention, and Graduation in College

*& all of this*
*at no cost*
*to the student*