College Connection

1. College Connection Tarrant County College District& Fort Worth ISD October 8, 2007

2. Presenter

3. Presenter Mary Hensley, Ed.D.Vice President, College Support Systems and ISD Relationsmhensley@austincc.edu512-223-7618

4. Agenda • Closing the Gaps Overview • College Connection Overview • College Connection How It Works • Program Results • Program Recognition • State and National Interest in Expansion • College Connection How To Start • Guiding Principles • Plan for Success • Common Challenges • Questions and Answers

5. Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s Strategic Plan“Closing the Gaps”Overview

6. Closing the Gaps in Participation • Closing the Gaps warns that if more Texans do not receive college degrees by 2030, the State could lose up to $40 billion in annual household income. • The goal is to increase student enrollment in higher education by 630,000 by 2015. • Most students will elect to start at a community college. • Tarrant County College District expects over 22,481 more students by 2015. Source: http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/ClosingtheGaps/ctgtargets_pdf.cfm?Goal=1

7. College ConnectionOverview

8. Education Beyond High School Increases earning potential and employment opportunities U.S. Department of Education

9. Improving High School to College Transitions • Provide admission and pre-enrollment services to seniors on their school campuses • Create an expectation that “College is in everyone’s future.” • Increase percentage of high school seniors who enter college after high school graduation.

10. Tarrant County College District Service Area College Transition Rates Texas High School Graduates from FY 2006Enrolled in Texas Higher Education Fall 2006 *Includes students who were not enrolled in Texas colleges or universities in the year immediately following graduation, as well as students who were enrolled out-of-state. **Districts with less than 25 graduates are not included in this report. Source: http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/Reports/PDF/1161.PDF

11. Tarrant County College District Service Area College Transition Rates Texas High School Graduates from FY 2006Enrolled in Texas Higher Education Fall 2006 *Includes students who were not enrolled in Texas colleges or universities in the year immediately following graduation, as well as students who were enrolled out-of-state.**Districts with less than 25 graduates are not included in this report.Source: http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/Reports/PDF/1161.PDF

12. Fort Worth ISD Service Area Selected College Transition Rates Texas High School Graduates from FY 2006Enrolled in Texas Higher Education Fall 2006 *Includes students who were not enrolled in Texas colleges or universities in the year immediately following graduation, as well as students who were enrolled out-of-state.**Districts with less than 25 graduates are not included in this report.Source: http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/Reports/PDF/1161.PDF

13. College ConnectionHow It Works

14. College Connection Program • Many high school students find the college enrollment process intimidating. • Tarrant County College District provides hands-on, one-on-onesupportto assist every student through each step of the college admissions process. • During graduation ceremonies, high school graduating seniors receive acceptance letters to Tarrant County College District.

15. Students Receive Services at the High School:

16. College ConnectionCommon Order of On-Campus Activities Senior Presentation Admission application Financial aid application ASSET assessment Tour of Austin Community College campus(es) Pre-Advising Advising Acceptance letter to Austin Community College at graduation Registration for Austin Community College classes Red=RequiredBlue=Recommended Black=Optional

17. College Connection Activity Grid Sample ISD District Lead: Sandra Dowdy, Assistant Superintendent, 512-386-3040, sdowdy@del-valle.k12.tx.us Del Valle HS Lead: Jean MacInnis, Principal, 512-386-3210, jmacinnis@del-valle.k12.tx.us Admin. Assistant: Nadene Norwood, 512-386-3211, nadene.norwood@del-valle.k12.tx.us ACC District Lead: Mary Hensley, 223-7618, mhensley@austincc.edu Exec. Assistant: Esther Buzard, 223-7618, ebuzard@austincc.edu College Connection Lead: Luanne Preston, 223-7354, luanne@austincc.edu Admin. Assistant: Laurie Clark, 223-7354, lclark2@austincc.edu Senior Count: 400 SHADE/BOLD – Required College Connection Activities

18. Lifetime Acceptance “at ACC” • Application never discarded • Provide a permanent college home • Students come to ACC: • Full-time • Part-time • In Summer for transfer • After military service • After career changes • Co-enroll while attending 4-year institution

19. Lifetime Acceptance “at ACC” • Cohorts can be tracked by semester of entry • Longitudinal data collected for • Retention • Completion • Success

20. Program Results

21. College Connection Program Growth Over 4 years: • 1 school district to 27 school districts • 2 high schools to 58 high schools • 400 students to 17,000+ students

22. The College Connection Program Works! Blue=Year College Connection started Red=Year Seniors attend ACC after College Connection 1-Source: http://www.txhighereddata.org/Reports/PDF/0961.pdf 2-Source: http://www.txhighereddata.org/Reports/PDF/0963.pdf 3-Source: http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/Reports/PDF/1161.PDF

23. College ConnectionDiversity of Participants 2006-07

24. Traditionally Underrepresented in Higher Education - Students Enroll at ACC • More than 55% of College Connectionenrollees are minorities • Higher percentage entering ACC through College Connection than in the general ACC student population

25. College Connection Positively Impacts Other College Programs • ACC Fall Enrollments • 38% increase first year • 59% increase over two years • Early College Start (Dual Credit) Enrollments • 26% increase in enrollment from ‘04 to ’05 • 45% increase in enrollment from ’04 to ’06 • 3,209 students enrolled Summer 2007 (record-breaking ECS enrollment) • Tech Prep Enrollments • 4,336% increase in enrollment from ‘03 to ‘06 • 36 students in 2003-04 • 48 students in 2004-05 • 293 students in 2005-06 • 1,597 students in 2006-07

26. Program Recognition

27. College Connection Program National Acclaim & Recognition

28. Awards Received

29. State and National Interest in Expansion

30. National Interest: Florida Department of Education • Launched state-wide campaign in April 2007 called “Go Higher-Get Accepted” modeled after College Connection Maine Interest in College Connection • Proposed law requiring graduating high school seniors to complete at least one college application before getting diploma. • Support from “Compact for Higher Education”

31. “Attaining advanced levels of education for disadvantaged students cannot be done without developing a college-going culture in every middle school and high school in the state of Texas...then suddenly, (going to college) changes from being a possibility to an expectation.” --Raymund Paredes Commissioner, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board January 6, 2005

32. THECB Statewide College Connection Expansion2007-2009 • Ten Colleges Receive Implementation Grants • Alamo Community College District • Blinn College • Del Mar College • Houston Community College System • Lee College • Odessa College • Richland College • South Texas College • Tarrant County College District • Weatherford College

33. THECB Statewide College Connection Expansion2007-2009 • Five Colleges Receive Planning Grants • Cedar Valley College • Cisco Junior College • Northeast Texas Community College • Paris Junior College • Victoria College

34. THECB Statewide College Connection Expansion • Colleges Already Adopting College Connection • Alamo Community College District • Central Texas College • Coastal Bend Community College • Del Mar Community College • Houston Community College District • Temple Community College • Vernon College • Victoria Community College

35. College Connection:How To Start

36. Formal Agreement • Between college and school district • Signed by chancellor and/or president and superintendent • Establishes transfer of student data from high school to college • Details responsibilities and expectations

37. Advance Briefing • District/Central Office Staff • High School Principal

38. Planning Meeting • One meeting held annually in Summer or Fall • Schedule one hour (slightly longer for new schools or multiple schools) • Complete activity grid • Focus on scheduling • Leave activity details for * contacts

39. Communications between School District and College • Electronic via list serv • Updated activity grid sent via e-mail when changes occur • College Connection website links • iCal • Combined calendar for internal use

40. Data Collection • Very Important • Collect electronically (Excel spreadsheet) • Collect from high school • Name • Address • DOB • HS Student ID (for later record matching) • Test Scores (HS Exit Exam, SAT, ACT) • Mark records as College Connection cohort in student database

41. Data Follow-Up • Track by school, how many students complete each activity • May need multiple visits to get 100% participation • Give high school principal participation rates for use at graduation announcement ceremony • Report Fall enrollment from pilot schools (compare to benchmark), Spring persistence

42. Austin Community CollegeCollege Connection Website • Access to scheduled activities for students, parents, and school officials • Calendars • Links to pertinent ACC school district sites

43. Website • Participating schools • Links to school pages • Link to college pages of interest • Press coverage/special events

44. College Connection Logo

45. College Connection:Guiding Principles

46. Guiding Principles: Sequencing Activities • When to schedule activities? • Senior Presentation • Prior to first activity, as soon as possible after school starts • Usually admissions follows • Admissions Application • Fall Semester • After receipt of data roster • In time, where possible, for seniors to prepare for Spring dual- credit registration

47. Guiding Principles: Sequencing Activities • When to schedule activities? • Assessment • End of January through early March • After receipt of test score roster – timed to allow maximum number of SAT/ACT test scores to be included • Allows students to receive the most instructional content prior to testing • Financial Aid • Mid-January through Mid-March • Presentations timed to coincide with W-2 arrival, tax preparation, and meet college priority filing deadlines • Night presentations and workshops for parents and students • Financial Aid Saturdays

48. Guiding Principles: Sequencing Activities • When to schedule activities? • New Student Orientation • ACC calls this step “pre-advising” • Completed online as ACC 101 • Live program replaced by online module per school request • School manages where and when students complete • Student prints checklist as proof of completion • Many schools schedule during advisory • Schedule window of time prior to academic advising • Recommend 1-3 weeks prior to advising session

49. Guiding Principles: Sequencing Activities • When to schedule activities? • Academic Advising • Mid-February through Mid-April • Allow time, if needed, for test scores to be entered or processed and available to advisors • ACC requires three weeks is using ASSET • Complete all College Connection activities by Mid-April

50. Guiding Principles: Scheduling • The planning meeting for each school should occur before Fall semester, or as soon after school starts as possible • All events should be completed by Mid-April with rare exceptions • The month of May through end of school is extremely busy on high school campuses • A student should be able to complete an individual activity (exception assessment testing) with one bell period