NACAC National Conference, NACAC News

#NACAC19: Call for Proposals and Facilitators is Open Through Jan. 7

Share your expertise and give back to your professional community next September in Louisville.

NACAC’s 2019 National Conference call for proposals and facilitators is open until Jan. 7 and the format for this conference will be different from years past, with a larger array of presentation types sought.

Check out the changes and submit your proposal. You can also apply to be a reviewer, a position where you’ll help determine the educational offerings selected for next year’s conference.

Continue reading #NACAC19: Call for Proposals and Facilitators is Open Through Jan. 7 →

Access

Tennessee Weighs Next Steps in College Completion Campaign

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Tennessee is considered a national leader when it comes to college access.

The Tennessee Promise program offers high school grads two years of free community college. Meanwhile, Tennessee Reconnect provides tuition-free avenues for adults who want to return to school or are just starting their college journey.

Yet despite the wide-array of offerings, degree attainment across the state is uneven. A new analysis of public data published by The Tennessean offers insight into some of the factors impeding wider progress.

Continue reading Tennessee Weighs Next Steps in College Completion Campaign →

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Colleges Get Creative to Fill Revenue Gaps

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Declining enrollments are leading some colleges to look for new ways to boost revenue.

The Indicator, a podcast produced by NPR’s Planet Money team, recently shared a few of the more innovative approaches.

Did you know:

  • Forty-eight colleges have licensed their schools’ logos for use on caskets.
  • At least one university rents out its dorms on Airbnb during the summer months.
  • Collectively, US colleges and universities have added 41,446 new degree or certificate programs since 2012 — a strategy experts say is at least in part due to a desire to increase revenues.

Continue reading Colleges Get Creative to Fill Revenue Gaps →

College Readiness

Op-Ed: Taking a Gap Year Builds Resilience

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An academic in Australia has one major piece of advice for students before they head to university: Take a gap year.

“School might have prepared students intellectually for a tertiary education, but there is lots school can’t prepare you for — and that’s how to deal with real people in the real world,” Jenna Price, who works at the University of Technology in Sydney, wrote in The Sydney Morning-Herald.

Though a gap year alone won’t turn a C-student into an A-student, she said there is a significant difference in the overall performance of students who’ve taken a break from formal education.

Continue reading Op-Ed: Taking a Gap Year Builds Resilience →

College Admission

Parents: Before You Yell at Your Child’s School Counselor

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Editor’s note: A version of post was first published on Counselors’ Corner.

You’ve worked so hard to schedule, prepare, and nudge your high school senior to apply to college on time. You shared that small thrill when they hit “submit” with time to spare, and you thought you were all set.

Until they got the e-mail.

“Our records indicate your application is incomplete. Unless we receive a copy of your high school transcript in the next five days, we will be unable to process your application.”

At this point, you’ve decided this is personal, so even though it’s 7 at night, you pick up the phone and leave The Mother of All Voice Mails for your school counselor.

Boy, did you just blow it. Here’s why:

Continue reading Parents: Before You Yell at Your Child’s School Counselor →

College Admission

Students: Take the Pledge to Apply to College

Pledging to apply to college now comes with a bigger perk than simply reaching your higher education goals.

November is National College Application Month and Better Make Room wants students to pledge to get those applications turned in.

In exchange, they’ve arranged for a wide range of celebrities to do laundry for those who pledge.

Continue reading Students: Take the Pledge to Apply to College →

Access, NACAC News

#NACACreads: Read an Excerpt from ‘Breakaway Learners’

The students we serve are changing.

Are you?

Karen Gross, who spent eight years as president of Southern Vermont College, poses that question in Breakaway Learners — a book we’ll discuss during our next #NACACreads chat.

“Many of today’s students are the first in their families to attend college, let alone graduate; many are immigrants; many are low income,” writes Gross, who will join us for an hour-long Twitter discussion on Dec. 12. “Many have experienced trauma or toxic stress.”

Continue reading #NACACreads: Read an Excerpt from ‘Breakaway Learners’ →

Financial Aid, Paying for College

FAFSA State Deadlines are Approaching

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Need financial aid for the 2019-20 academic year?

The US Department of Education is reminding students to remain cognizant of deadlines when completing the FAFSA.

While the form is primarily used to award federal financial aid, many states also use the FAFSA to assess eligibility for their aid programs — and some of those deadlines are on the horizon.

Continue reading FAFSA State Deadlines are Approaching →

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