School Districts to Offer ‘Graduation Guides’ to Keep Students on Track

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DC public schools (DCPS) are hoping to get and keep high school students on track to graduate and head off to college with their new “Guide to Graduation, College, and Career.”

Personalized for each student, all high school students in DCPS will receive a PDF document twice a year that will track their progress to graduation and offer college and career options, NPR reported. The guides will be mailed and available online.

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#NACACreads: Author Tony Jack to Discuss ‘The Privileged Poor’

Everyone wants to hear what Tony Jack has to say.

In the past three months, the Harvard sociologist has been featured on NPR, CNN, PBS, and other media outlets talking about disadvantaged students, college access, and the admission process.

And this September, he’ll be chatting with NACAC members.

Jack, author of The Privileged Poor, has agreed to join us for a #NACACreads discussion focused on his book. The conversation—which will also provide opportunities for admission professionals to share their insights about the experiences of disadvantaged students—will kick off on Twitter at 9 p.m. ET on Sept. 17.

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It’s the Little Things

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Editor’s note: NACAC member Kasey Urquídez found herself in a unique position this fall — heading up the admission office at the same university where her daughter was embarking on her freshman year. The experience offered Urquídez an up-close-and-personal look at what comes after admission and how a campus community can help make (or break) promises made during the recruitment cycle.

As I reflect on my daughter’s first year of college, I am grateful for the little things. As vice president for enrollment management and dean of admissions at the University of Arizona (UA), it may seem silly for me to write about my own child’s first year at UA, but I feel compelled to share her experience. Why? Her freshman year ultimately offered her everything a parent could want for their child. And as an admission professional, her experiences provided the opportunity to see first-hand the way my university was able to make good on promises made in the recruiting cycle—something all enrollment leaders want.

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ICYMI: NACAC Applauds Supreme Court Decision to Support Transgender Students

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NACAC issued a statement this week in support of the US Supreme Court’s decision not to hear arguments in Doe v. Boyertown Area School District.

The court case centers on a Pennsylvania school district’s policy permitting students to use the restroom of their choice. By declining to hear the case, the Supreme Court let stand a lower court’s ruling that sided with the district’s decision to allow students to use the bathroom matching their gender identity.

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Report: Engagement Matters More Than Selectivity in Determining College Fit

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Finding the “right fit” college can be a stressful and confusing process for students and families. Students often do not know how to find the “right fit” or what that even means.

To mitigate this uncertainty, some students turn to college rankings and the selectivity of an institution as indicators of quality. But this approach can be problematic as each student has a unique set of needs, goals, dreams, and desires in their college selection process that may not accurately be reflected in a college’s rank.

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HEA Update: Standardized Financial Aid Letters Proposed

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Financial aid award letters have long been a topic of conversation within the college admission counseling profession, and as discussions about reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA) intensify, Congress seems poised to join the conversation.

Last month, Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Joni Ernst (R-IA) introduced the Understanding the True Cost of College Act of 2019 — stand-alone legislation intended to be included as part of the larger HEA reauthorization.

If passed, higher education institutions would be required to use a uniform financial aid offer form containing standardized definitions. According to the bill’s sponsors, the move is intended to ensure colleges provide information to students and families in “a consumer-friendly manner that is simple and understandable.”

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International, First-Generation Student Experience Inspires Online Platform

There are many issues and challenges facing international and first-generation college students in the college admission process and as they work to earn their degrees.

But one student is taking those challenges and using them as the basis for her new education tech start-up.

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Survey: ‘Lack of Clear Pathways’ Barrier to Community College Transfer

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Community college presidents are still concerned that a lack of clear pathways for community college students to transfer two years’ worth of credit is a significant barrier to students transferring to four-year colleges to earn a bachelor’s degree.

However, less presidents than in years past hold this view, according to Inside Higher Ed’s fifth annual Survey of Community College Presidents.

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Regular updates on NACAC and the world of college admission counseling. For more information about NACAC, visit nacacnet.org.