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Program Evolution

This article explores the importance of Path to College Events in promoting a college-going culture and providing insight into the college application process for high school students. It discusses various types of events and the role of Tennessee Higher Education Commission in supporting these initiatives.

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Program Evolution

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  1. Program Evolution Growth and Change in College Access Events Across Grade Levels Courtney Rogers & Mary Nelle Hall Tennessee Higher Education Commission

  2. What are Path to College Events? Path to College events are designed to promote a college-going culture in schools and provide increased insight to the college-going process as students approach high school graduation. • PTC events include: • College Application Week (fall of senior year)

  3. College Application and Exploration Week Cumberland Gap High School College Mascot Day! Cleveland High School

  4. What are Path to College Events? Path to College events are designed to promote a college-going culture in schools and provide increased insight to the college-going process as students approach high school graduation. • PTC events include: • College Application Week (fall of senior year) • College Planning Nights (spring of junior year)

  5. College Planning Nights • Spring of student’s junior year • Parent-focused workshop on what parents need to know as their student prepares to enter senior year

  6. What are Path to College Events? Path to College events are designed to promote a college-going culture in schools and provide increased insight to the college-going process as students approach high school graduation. • PTC events include: • College Application Week (fall of senior year) • College Planning Nights (spring of junior year) • TN FAFSA Frenzy (fall of senior year)

  7. www.TNFAFSA frenzy.gov

  8. What are Path to College Events? Path to College events are designed to promote a college-going culture in schools and provide increased insight to the college-going process as students approach high school graduation. • PTC events include: • College Application Week (fall of senior year) • College Planning Nights (spring of junior year) • TN FAFSA Frenzy (fall of senior year) • College Signing Day (spring of senior year)

  9. College Signing Day Hickman County High School East Hickman High School

  10. What Role Does THEC Play? • Annual Resource Guides + Customizable Templates • Implementation Ideas and Resources • Volunteer Recruitment Tips • Event Promotion Resources

  11. What Role Does THEC Play? 2) Annual Resource Mailings • Stickers, Posters, & Wall Clings • Registration managed through Formstack • Schools registered for ALL 4 Events • Funded by GEAR UP

  12. What Role Does THEC Play? 3) Creating Buzz in the Media • #CollegeforTN • #CollegeAppWeek • #TNFAFSAFrenzy • #TNCollegeSigningDay • Governor's FAFSA Frenzy Proclamation

  13. In 1 year, THEC grew participation in Path to College Events by over 100% to 703 participating schools in 2017/2018.

  14. Growth Strategies Proactive Outreach Collaboration Innovative Acknowledgement

  15. Strategy 1: Proactive Outreach • THEC partnered with Tennessee Department of Education to attend and present during “Counselor Collaboratives” in core regions across the state.

  16. Strategy 1: Proactive Outreach • Increased relevance by aligning Path to College Events with Tennessee School Counseling Standards

  17. Group Question: • How can you connect with counselors in your state?

  18. Strategy 2: Collaboration • Encouraged counselor collaboration during the session. • Collected and redistributed counselor ideas from the session planning template.

  19. Group Question: • How do counselors share best practices in your state?How do you tap into that?

  20. Strategy 3: Innovative Acknowledgement • Path to College School Designation • High Schools ONLY • Complete and return post- event surveys before required deadlines • Positive Outcomes: • Huge increase in survey responses (from 59 in 2016 to 250 in 2017 for College Application and Exploration Week) • Feedback used to inform creation of new PTC resources

  21. Group Question: • How do you acknowledge people who are doing great work in college access in your state?

  22. What Did We Learn? • There are varying levels of “buy in” • Counselors are hungry for implementation ideas and resources-- especially resources for elementary and middle school and financial literacy • Utilizing Tennessee’s Counselor Collaborative structure was effective

  23. What Now? • College-going culture research based Powerpoint and self- assessment.

  24. College-Going Culture- What Is It? • According to the LA Unified School District, a college going culture exists when the following elements are present in a school: Clear Expectations Family & Community Involvement Information & Resources College Talk College Connections Curriculum Faculty Involvement Articulation

  25. What Does the Research Say? Clear Expectations • A school culture where the entire faculty ensure all students are prepared, support students in completing college applications, and push students to go to college is the single most consistent predictor of postsecondary enrollment. Roderick, M., Nagaoka, J., Coca, V., Meller, E., Roddie, K., Gilliam, J., & Patton, D. (2008). From High School to the Future: Potholes on the Road to College. Chicago: Consortium on Chicago School Research.

  26. What Does the Research Say? Information and Resources • One research study has shown that helping students select institutions, apply for admission, and complete a financial aid application increased college enrollment by 5.2%. Oreopoulos, P., & Ford, R. (2016). Keeping college options open: A field experiment to help all high school seniors throught the college application process. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research. • A separate study indicated that students who receive information and assistance in completing the FAFSA are 8.1 percentage points more likely to enroll in college. Bettinger, E., Long, B., Oreopoulos, P., & Sanbonmatsu, L. (2012). The role of application assistance and information in college decisions: Results from the H&R Block FAFSA experiment. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 127(3), 1205 - 1242.

  27. Out with the old…

  28. What’s New for Path To College? • Old Handbooks • 4 Handbooks, 1 Per Event • College Application and Exploration Week • TN FAFSA Frenzy • College Planning Night • College Signing Day • All grade levels in each handbook • Repetitive content and sections (sample press release, volunteer engagement) • Lots of pictures, not well organized • Unclear which resources are available as an editable version • New Handbooks • 3 Handbooks • Elementary School • Middle School • High School • 5 Sections • An Introduction to College Access • Implementing Path to College Events • Volunteer Engagement and Path to College • Media Outreach and Social Media • CollegeforTN.org and Path to College • Online Flickr Yearbook of Pictures • Icons to indicate downloads available

  29. Sample Pages

  30. Online Yearbook

  31. New Mailings 800,000 stickers ordered! 20 new poster designs -Middle School: Career Clusters -Elementary School: Hard and Soft Skills -High School: FAFSA Verification

  32. Career Simulation Game Inspired by the work of College for West Virginia and Texas GEAR UP, THEC is creating a career simulation game designed for middle and high school students. Students will be assigned a career and life scenario, and will then have to make choices about housing, transportation, insurance and more. New for Tennessee: students who experience a “budget busting” scenario will work with a “Financial Coach” to reflect on their choices and revamp their spending. Students whose career does not have a postsecondary credential can visit the Tennessee Reconnect station (based on state’s our new adult learner scholarship) to earn a credential and take their career to the next level!

  33. 2018/2019 Outreach Plans • Continuing to tap into the Counselor Collaborative structure • Equipping Counselor “Coaches” with Path to College Informational Powerpoint and Video • Better tracking of use of Path to College handbooks

  34. Resources • www.collegeforTN.org • Emailedto Group: • Path to College Planning Template • Path to College Implementation Ideas • College-Going Culture Assessment and Research • New Handbooks Available Mid Summer!

  35. Contact Us! Courtney Rogers Coordinator, College Access and Success Outreach Courtney.Rogers@tn.gov Mary Nelle Hall Statewide Services Coordinator MaryNelle.Hall@tn.gov

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