Counseling

How Can States Increase Their College Attendance Rates?

The United States used to lead the world in adult postsecondary attainment, but has gradually slipped to 12th. To help the U.S. regain its former position as a world leader in adult postsecondary attainment rates, many states have set aggressive postsecondary completion or attainment goals over the past several years. To achieve these goals, states are adding a variety of ingredients into the recipe to get more youth and adults into and through postsecondary programs. But notably absent from the “cookbook” in most states are dedicated efforts to improve secondary students’ access to high-quality college counseling. A December, 2014 report from the Education Commission of the States (ECS) identifies state approaches that may not reap the hoped-for gains in college-going and highlights recent research pointing to new, successful approaches to increase college-going rates – and a few states implementing promising efforts.

Get With the Program… and Finish It: The Guided Pathways Approach to Helping Students Complete College

Most community colleges offer a wide array of programs. Yet, colleges typically provide little guidance to help new students choose a program of study and develop a plan for completing it. While career services and advising are provided to students who seek them out, studies suggest that those who need such services the most are the least likely to take advantage of them.

Getting a Bigger Bang for Your Buck: How Community Colleges Can Get the Most Out of Student Support Services

As community college administrators and faculty know all too well, getting through college takes more than academic preparation.  Students often face barriers unrelated to academic skills that may prevent them from completing college. Some of these barriers are obvious and concrete – such as transportation or childcare difficulties.  Others are more subtle: students may find the college bureaucracy bewildering, they may have poor time-management skills, or have no sense of when and how to seek help.

Individualized Learning Plans Webinar Questions: Part 2 – Fostering School-Wide Buy-in of ILPs

This post is the second in a series following the May 29 webinar, “The Use of Individualized Learning Plans (ILPs) to Help Students to be College and Career Ready,” where presenters are responding to questions submitted by participants. The first post in this series is available here.

How Businesses Can Help Create Digital Learning Opportunities

On January 14, 2013, the Alliance for Excellent Education hosted The Role of Business LeadersExpanding Learning Opportunities Through Digital Learning, a Webinar focused on how businesses can assist schools in increasing digital learning opportunities for students. Panelists for the event included Steve Andrews, U.S.

Analyzing NAEP: Who American Indian/Alaska Native Students Turn To In School

Last month, the 2011 National Indian Education Study (NIES) was released. The NIES is conducted through the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and administered to 4th and 8th grade American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) students in order to provide more information about their cultural and educational experiences at school. The results highlighted below are from 10,300 8th graders’ self-reports of how often and to whom they talk to about high school and beyond.

How Effective Are College Access Programs?

The United States has slipped from being the world leader in 25-to-34 year-olds with post-secondary degrees in the 1980’s to ranking 12th today.[1]  There are a number of helpful avenues to prepare students for their journey into and through their postsecondary education, and college access programs are one option that provide services ranging from financial counseling to college visits and test preparation.

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