Access, College Readiness

Do You Know When to Nudge? Watch Our Facebook Live Broadcast with Ben Castleman

In recent years, we’ve learned more about successful strategies for boosting college access and academic success.

But for many schools, communities, and colleges, bringing those interventions to students has proven challenging, researcher Ben Castleman said Tuesday during a NACAC Facebook Live broadcast.

A new guide— Nudges, Norms, and New Solutions — seeks to fill that gap. The resource is available free of charge and offers step-by-step advice to help educators increase college access, help students file for financial aid, and stay on track academically.

Continue reading Do You Know When to Nudge? Watch Our Facebook Live Broadcast with Ben Castleman →

Access

Survey: Americans Think US Higher Education System Must Change

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Americans believe in the power of higher education, but most say that colleges aren’t functioning the way they should.

According to a recent survey of 1,600 US adults commissioned by the Washington, DC-based New America think tank:

  • Seventy-five percent of Americans say that it is easier to be successful with a college degree.
  • But only a quarter of those surveyed agree that the higher education system “is functioning just fine the way it is.”

Continue reading Survey: Americans Think US Higher Education System Must Change →

College Readiness

Facebook Live: Join Us Next Week to Learn about ‘Nudges, Norms, and New Solutions’

Looking to break down some of the barriers that prevent students from moving beyond high school?

We’ll be broadcasting via Facebook Live at noon on Tuesday, June 19 with Ben Castleman, a #NACACreads author and a co-creator of a new guide Nudges, Norms, and New Solutions. This guide is a free tool for educators as they develop strategies to assist students in the transition from high school to college.

Tune in at noon ET to talk about the guide, Castleman’s new nudge hotline, and how behavioral science can be used to combat summer melt and encourage student success.

Continue reading Facebook Live: Join Us Next Week to Learn about ‘Nudges, Norms, and New Solutions’ →

Access

#NACACreads: Book Club Examines Racism in America

Beverly Daniel Tatum’s classic book —Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? — is chock-full of hard truths.

And when participants in Monday’s #NACACreads chat gathered online to discuss the bestseller, they confronted many of those realities and shared ideas for how to make things better for the students they serve.

“Prejudice is one of the inescapable consequences of living in a racist society. Cultural racism — the cultural images and messages that affirm the assumed superiority of Whites and the assumed inferiority of people of color — is like smog in the air,” Tatum writes in the book, revised in 2017. “Sometimes it is so thick it is visible, other times it is less apparent, but always, day in and out, we are breathing it in.

“None of us would introduce ourselves as ‘smog breathers’ (and most of us don’t want to be described as prejudiced),” she added. “But if we live in a smoggy place, how can we avoid breathing the air?”

Counselors and admission professionals from across the country joined in the discussion. Here are highlights from the hour-long chat.

Continue reading #NACACreads: Book Club Examines Racism in America →

College Readiness

Achievement Pressure Linked to Anxiety, Depression

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Schools with high-achieving students are reporting higher than average rates of teen depression and anxiety, a growing body of research shows.

“What we’ve found is that kids in high-achieving, relatively affluent communities are reporting higher levels of substance abuse than inner-city kids and levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms are also commensurate — if not greater,” Suniya Luthar, a professor emerita at Columbia University’s Teachers College told NPR.

Continue reading Achievement Pressure Linked to Anxiety, Depression →

Access, NACAC News

Join Us for a Facebook Live Q&A with GWI’s Keynote Speaker

We’ll be broadcasting via Facebook Live on Thursday, June 14 with David Dixon, this year’s Guiding the Way to Inclusion keynote speaker. Dixon worked in college admission and enrollment management for nearly a decade at Oglethorpe University (GA) before moving to education policy work. He currently serves as a senior legal and policy advisor with EducationCounsel, LLC.

Tune in at 11:30 a.m. ET to talk about the 2018 GWI conference, college access, and why Dixon started working in education policy, strategy, and advocacy.

You can watch the full conversation live on NACAC’s Facebook page.

Continue reading Join Us for a Facebook Live Q&A with GWI’s Keynote Speaker →

Access, Advocacy, NACAC News

Join Us Monday for a #NACACreads Discussion About Race

Our next #NACACreads online discussion is fast-approaching.

On Monday, we’ll chat with author Beverly Daniel Tatum about the new edition of her bestselling book, Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?

Tatum, president emerita of Spelman College (GA), will answer questions as we explore how racism continues to affect students as they make their way to and through college.

The chat will kick off on Twitter at 9 p.m.

Continue reading Join Us Monday for a #NACACreads Discussion About Race →

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