College Connection Tarrant County College District September 14, 2007

Presenters

Mary Hensley, Ed.D. Vice President, College Support Systems and ISD Relations Luanne Preston, Ph.D. Executive Director, Early College Start and College Connection Presenters

Agenda Closing the Gaps Overview College Connection Overview College Connection How It Works Program Results Program Recognition State and National Interest in Expansion College Connection How To Start College Connection Guiding Principles Common Challenges Questions and Answers

Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s Strategic Plan “Closing the Gaps” Overview

Closing the Gaps in Participation Closing the Gaps warns that if more Texans do not receive college degrees by 2030, the State could lose up to $40 billion in annual household income. The goal is to increase student enrollment in higher education by 630,000 by Most students will elect to start at a community college. Tarrant County College District expects over 22,481 more students by Source:

College Connection Overview

Education Beyond High School Increases earning potential and employment opportunities U.S. Department of Education

Learn to Earn Source: Postsecondary Education OPPORTUNITY

Excuses For Not Continuing Your Education No one in my family has ever gone to college. I’ve been in school for 12 years. That’s enough! I just want a good job. I can’t afford it. I don’t know what I want to do with my life. I won’t fit in. College is too hard. I don’t know how to apply or where I want to go. Source: Adapted from The College Board’s “Seven Excuses Not to Go to College and Why They’re Lame”

Improving High School to College Transitions Provide admission and pre-enrollment services to seniors on their school campuses Create an expectation that “College is in everyone’s future.” Increase percentage of high school seniors who enter college after high school graduation.

Texas High School Graduates from FY 2006 Enrolled in Texas Higher Education Fall 2006 Tarrant County College District Service Area College Transition Rates *Includes students who were not enrolled in Texas colleges or universities in the year immediately following graduation, as well as students who were enrolled out-of-state. **Districts with less than 25 graduates are not included in this report. Source: School District Total High School Graduates Students Enrolled in Texas Universities Students Enrolled in Texas 2-year Colleges Students Not Located in Texas Higher Education * Arlington ISD 3, %84226%1,50446% Azle ISD %11431%18149% Birdville ISD 1, %36329%57245% Carroll ISD %8415%28950% Castleberry ISD %3528%7962% Crowley ISD %20727%37648% Eagle Mt-Saginaw ISD %14731%24651% Everman ISD %3821%9451% Fort Worth ISD 3, %67119%2,12561%

Texas High School Graduates from FY 2006 Enrolled in Texas Higher Education Fall 2006 Tarrant County College District Service Area College Transition Rates School District Total High School Graduates Students Enrolled in Texas Universities Students Enrolled in Texas 2-year Colleges Students Not Located in Texas Higher Education * Grapevine- Colleyville ISD 1, %22121%41039% Hurst-Euless- Bedford ISD 1, %31526%61251% Keller ISD 1, %41730%52337% Kennedale ISD %4926%9049% Lake Worth ISD %3126%6655% Mansfield ISD 1, %39229%60944% White Settlement ISD %8128%15753% Total16,1624,22126%4,00725%7,93349% *Includes students who were not enrolled in Texas colleges or universities in the year immediately following graduation, as well as students who were enrolled out-of-state. **Districts with less than 25 graduates are not included in this report. Source:

Texas High School Graduates from FY 2006 Enrolled in Texas Higher Education Fall 2006 Fort Worth ISD Service Area Selected College Transition Rates High School Total High School Graduates Students Enrolled in Texas Universities Students Enrolled in Texas 2-year Colleges Students Not Located in Texas Higher Education * Carter-Riverside %3519%12668% Diamond Hill- Jarvis %2416%11576% Dunbar %169%10760% Eastern Hills %4016%16464% O.D. Wyatt %3119%9659% Polytechnic183137%3620%13473% Success7511%45%7094% Trimble Technical %7722%21763% Total1, %26317%1,02967% *Includes students who were not enrolled in Texas colleges or universities in the year immediately following graduation, as well as students who were enrolled out-of-state. **Districts with less than 25 graduates are not included in this report. Source:

College Connection How It Works

College Connection Program Many high school students find the college enrollment process intimidating. Tarrant County College District provides hands-on, one-on-one support to assist every student through each step of the college admissions process. During graduation ceremonies, high school graduating seniors receive acceptance letters to Tarrant County College District.

Students Receive Services at the High School:

College Connection Activity Grid Sample ActivityDateTimeLocation Equipment CommunicationDel Valle HS Contact (*Lead Contact) valle.k12.tx.us ACC District Contact (*Lead Contact) High School Planning Committee Meeting August 9, :00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Del Valle Admin 5301 Ross Road Del Valle, TX Announcement *Jean MacInnis Jmacinnis *Luanne Preston luanne College Connection Agreement Prior to beginning Fall semester *Sandra Dowdy Sdowdy *Luanne Preston luanne Senior Presentation Kickoff Activity September 13, :30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. AuditoriumNotice in parent newsletter Notice on high school website *Sarah Mabry Sarah.mabry *Ashley Williams awillia4 Admissions Application Make-Up Day October 10, :30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Rooms A205, C216, D130, D208 Non-citizen students must obtain alternate ID before completing application *Sarah Mabry Sarah.mabry *Pat Colunga pcolunga ISD District Lead:Sandra Dowdy, Assistant Superintendent, , Del Valle HS Lead:Jean MacInnis, Principal, , Admin. Assistant: Nadene Norwood, , ACC District Lead:Mary Hensley, , Exec. Assistant: Esther Buzard, , College Connection Lead:Luanne Preston, , Admin. Assistant: Laurie Clark, , Senior Count:400 SHADE/BOLD – Required College Connection Activities

Lifetime Acceptance “at ACC” Application never discarded Provide a permanent college home Students come to ACC: ◦ Full-time ◦ Part-time ◦ In Summer for transfer ◦ After military service ◦ After career changes ◦ Co-enroll while attending 4-year institution

Lifetime Acceptance “at ACC” Cohorts can be tracked by semester of entry Longitudinal data collected for ◦ Retention ◦ Completion ◦ Success

Program Results

College Connection School Districts Year 1 San Marcos Year 2 Austin Bastrop Del Valle Leander San Marcos Year 3 Austin Bastrop Del Valle Hays Leander Manor Pflugerville San Marcos Year 4 Austin Bastrop Blanco Del Valle Elgin Fredericksburg Harper Hays Jarrell Johnson City Lago Vista Leander Liberty Hill Lockhart Luling Manor Nixon-Smiley Pflugerville Prairie Lea Round Rock San Marcos Smithville Year 5 Austin Bastrop Blanco Del Valle Dripping Springs Eanes Elgin Fredericksburg Georgetown Harper Hays Jarrell Johnson City Lago Vista Lake Travis Leander Liberty Hill Lockhart Luling Manor Nixon-Smiley Pflugerville Prairie Lea Round Rock San Marcos Smithville Wimberley

School Districts Participating in the College Connection Program School District Number of High Schools Number of Seniors YearStarted Austin ISD 125, Bastrop ISD Blanco ISD Del Valle ISD Dripping Springs ISD Eanes ISD Elgin ISD Fredericksburg ISD Georgetown ISD Harper ISD Hays CISD Jarrell ISD Johnson City ISD Lago Vista ISD

School Districts Participating in the College Connection Program School District Number of High Schools Number of Seniors YearStarted Lake Travis ISD Leander ISD 41, Liberty Hill ISD Lockhart ISD Luling ISD Manor ISD Nixon-Smiley CISD Pflugerville ISD 41, Prairie Lea ISD Round Rock ISD 52, San Marcos CISD Smithville ISD Wimberley ISD Total (27) 5817,532

College Connection Program Growth Over 4 years: 1 school district to 27 school districts 2 high schools to 58 high schools 400 students to 17,000+ students

The College Connection Program Works! Blue=Year College Connection startedRed=Year Seniors attend ACC after College Connection 1-Source: 2-Source: 3-Source: ISD Students NOT located in Texas Higher Education Fall 2003 Students NOT located in Texas Higher Education Fall 2004 Students NOT located in Texas Higher Education Fall 2005 Students NOT located in Texas Higher Education Fall Increase of Students in Higher Ed Since Implementation NumberPercentNumberPercentNumberPercentNumberPercent San Marcos27366%21955%23459%29466%0 % Austin2,15556%2,06656%2,00554%2,01452%4 % Bastrop28669%23457%23954%28261%-4 % Del Valle29377%31280%23666%22971%9 % Leander44448%45948%42242%41840%8 % Hays28157%30956%29055%28651%5 % Manor5157%7457%8762%8968%-6 % Pflugerville19447%20147%20448%15646%2 %

College Connection Diversity of Participants ◦ Anglo45% ◦ African American 11% ◦ Hispanic33% ◦ Asian 5% ◦ Other 6%

More than 55% of College Connection enrollees are minorities Higher percentage entering ACC through College Connection than in the general ACC student population Traditionally Underrepresented in Higher Education - Students Enroll at ACC

College Connection Results for ACC, Positive effect on Fall enrollments ◦ Immediate great results: 37.6% increase first year ◦ 59% increase over two years Positive effect on Early College Start enrollments ◦ 25.6% increase in enrollment from ‘04 to ’05 ◦ 45% increase in enrollment from ’04 to ’06 ◦ 3,209 students enrolled Summer 2007 (record-breaking ECS enrollment) Positive effect on Tech Prep enrollments ◦ 4,336% increase in number of students receiving Tech Prep credit  36 students in  48 students in  293 students in  1,597 students in

Program Recognition

College Connection Program National Acclaim & Recognition

Awards Received

State and National Interest in Expansion

Florida Department of Education Launched state-wide campaign in April 2007 called “Go Higher-Get Accepted” modeled after College Connection Maine Interest in College Connection Proposed law requiring graduating high school seniors to complete at least one college application before getting diploma. Support from “Compact for Higher Education” National Interest:

“Attaining advanced levels of education for disadvantaged students cannot be done without developing a college-going culture in every middle school and high school in the state of Texas...then suddenly, (going to college) changes from being a possibility to an expectation.” --Raymund Paredes Commissioner, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board January 6, 2005

THECB Statewide College Connection Expansion Ten Schools Receive Implementation Grants Alamo Community College District Blinn College Del Mar College Houston Community College System Lee College Odessa College Richland College South Texas College Tarrant County College District Weatherford College

THECB Statewide College Connection Expansion Five Schools Receive Planning Grants Cedar Valley College Cisco Junior College Northeast Texas Community College Paris Junior College Victoria College

THECB Statewide College Connection Expansion Schools Already Adopting College Connection Alamo Community College District Coastal Bend Community College Del Mar Community College Houston Community College District Temple Community College Victoria Community College

External Support for ACC Funding to expand College Connection Funding for Mobile Go Center Funding for statewide College Connection Regional Forums

Mobile Go Center

Related Initiatives Mini-College Connection for Adult Education College Connection Scholarships

College Connection: How To Start

Formal Agreement Between college and school district Signed by chancellor and/or president and superintendent Establishes transfer of student data from high school to college Details responsibilities and expectations

Advance Briefing District/Central Office Staff High School Principal

Planning Meeting One meeting held annually in the Summer Schedule one hour (slightly longer for new schools or multiple schools) Complete activity grid Focus on scheduling Leave activity details for * contacts

Communications between School District and College Electronic via list serv Updated activity grid sent via when changes occur College Connection website links College Connection iCal ◦ Combined calendar for internal use Combined calendar

Data Collection Collect electronically (Excel spreadsheet) Collect from high school ◦ Name ◦ Address ◦ DOB ◦ HS Student ID (for later record matching) ◦ Test Scores (HS Exit Exam, SAT, ACT) Mark records as College Connection cohort in student database

Data Follow-Up Track by school, how many students complete each activity May need multiple visits to get 100% participation Give high school principal participation rates for use at graduation announcement ceremony Report Fall enrollment from pilot schools (compare to benchmark), Spring persistence

Austin Community College College Connection Website Access to scheduled activities for students, parents, and school officials Calendars Links to pertinent ACC school district sites

Website Participating schools Links to school pages Link to college pages of interest Press coverage/special events

College Connection Logo

College Connection: Guiding Principles

Guiding Principles: College Connection Deliver services on high school campus ◦ “If they’re really interested, they should come to us” ◦ “Getting them to the college campus really gets them excited; they need to see the college campus” ◦ Traditional recruitment has not produced desired results What if the school wants to bring students to the college campus for activities other than campus tours? ◦ Ascertain the school’s purpose – this approach can be useful in some circumstances, but it is generally more efficient to serve students at the high school

Guiding Principles: College Connection Work with every category of high school student ◦ Gifted and talented ◦ Advanced Placement/Honors ◦ Bilingual/ESL ◦ Section 504 ◦ Special Education

Guiding Principles: College Connection Students do not need to repeat steps ◦ Dual-credit students do not have to re-apply ◦ Exempt students do not have to re-test Design activities within one bell period ◦ Exception is assessment testing ◦ Be respectful of instructional time Deliver services during school day Customize service delivery to meet high school needs, honor school preferences Look for ways to incorporate suggestions of school personnel

Guiding Principles: Personnel Team structure has worked for ACC Sharing personnel across departments Cross-train and re-deploy ◦ Recruiter/advisers Use trained college volunteers outside their regular duties ◦ Tutors proctor tests

Guiding Principles: Personnel Have personnel assigned to specific schools ◦ Builds relationships and trust ◦ Early warning about problems One “expert” available on-site ◦ Example: One admissions coordinator to address complex matters; other team members may be generalists

Guiding Principles: Personnel Have college personnel responsible for results ◦ Level of participation in each activity  How many completed the activity?  Do the preliminary results approach the projected numbers?  Did most students apply?  Did about 50% test? ◦ Interim results  Have checkpoints  Contact responsible school or district personnel in time to provide make-up dates before end of year, if numbers are low

Guiding Principles: Sequencing Activities Required Activities ◦ What does a student have to complete, at a minimum, to enroll at your institution?  Application  How much time is needed for an application to be available in the student information system?  TSI compliance (Assessment)  What tests do you offer students?  How much time is needed for scoring?

Guiding Principles: Sequencing Activities Required Activities ◦ What does a student have to complete, at a minimum, to enroll at your institution?  Orientation  Is orientation mandatory?  Do you enforce its completion before students can register?  Before they can be advised?  Advising  Is advising required prior to registration?  What action allows a student to register?

Recommended Activities ◦ FAFSA Completion ◦ Senior Presentation Optional Activities ◦ Career Information ◦ Campus Tours ◦ College Days Guiding Principles: Sequencing Activities

When to schedule activities? ◦ Senior Presentation  Prior to first activity, as soon as possible after school starts  Usually admissions follows ◦ Admissions Application  End of September, October, or November through Thanksgiving  After receipt of data roster  In time, where possible, for seniors to prepare for Spring dual- credit registration

Guiding Principles: Sequencing Activities When to schedule activities? ◦ Assessment  End of January through early March  After receipt of test score roster – timed to allow maximum number of SAT/ACT test scores to be included  Allows students to receive the most instructional content prior to testing ◦ Financial Aid  Mid-January through Mid-March  Presentations timed to coincide with W-2 arrival, tax preparation, and meet college priority filing deadlines  Night presentations and workshops for parents and students  Financial Aid Saturdays

Guiding Principles: Sequencing Activities When to schedule activities? ◦ New Student Orientation  ACC calls this step “pre-advising”  Completed online as ACC 101  Live program replaced by online module per school request  School manages where and when students complete  Student prints checklist as proof of completion  Many schools schedule during advisory  Schedule window of time prior to academic advising  Recommend 1-3 weeks prior to advising session

Guiding Principles: Sequencing Activities When to schedule activities? ◦ Academic Advising  Mid-February through Mid-April  Allow time, if needed, for test scores to be entered or processed and available to advisors  ACC requires three weeks is using ASSET ◦ Complete all College Connection activities by Mid- April

Guiding Principles: Sequencing Activities Senior Presentation DVD

See, it didnt’ hurt! Recruiter’s name

Guiding Principles: Scheduling The planning meeting for each school should occur before Fall semester, or as soon after school starts All events should be completed by Mid-April with rare exceptions ◦ The month of May through end of school is extremely busy on high school campuses A student should be able to complete an individual activity (exception assessment testing) with one bell period

Guiding Principles: Scheduling Provide capacity to staff activities at more than one school on the same day Decide what dates are ineligible for college personnel ◦ First day of registration ◦ Two weeks leading up to start of semester ◦ First week of classes

Guiding Principles: Scheduling Plan on the following high school availability constraints: ◦ End of six-week grading period/testing ◦ TAKS testing dates ◦ A/B Block scheduling (must provide activities on both A and B days) ◦ Sports conflicts  Example: Tuesdays and Fridays are varsity basketball game days ◦ Mondays and Fridays are the worst attendance days ◦ Beginning/end of semester ◦ Spring Break date differential (HB1)

Guiding Principles: Scheduling Efficiency Schools are deeply concerned about loss of instructional time All College Connection required activities can be completed in the equivalent of one school day

Size of school may allow for combined activities ◦ Example: Senior Presentation followed by Application  Advantages – Immediacy  A/B Block bell periods are 90 minutes long Guiding Principles: Scheduling Efficiency

Length of bell period may allow for combined activities ◦ Example: Application, FAFSA Pin Number, online pre-advising  Advantages  Uses entire bell period  Already disrupted for application  Eliminates need for a second pullout  Disadvantages  Students usually complete pre-advising well before advising  Increases chance they will not retain important information  High school staff must retain printed checklist for students to avoid loss Guiding Principles: Scheduling Efficiency

ACC 101 Demonstration

Scheduling Efficiency – How Much Time? Senior Presentation – 20 minutes Admissions Application – 25 minutes ◦ Residency Form ◦ Missing Credentials Assessment – 5 hours ◦ Partial testing takes less time  Math only – 1 hour  Reading/writing – 2.25 hours Pre-Advising – 25 minutes Advising – 15 minutes average

Planning Meeting Recommended Participants CollegeHigh School District lead person Implementation lead person Team leader for services ◦ Admissions representative ◦ Financial Aid representative ◦ Assessment representative ◦ Recruitment representative ◦ Advising representative ◦ Recorder Principal Grade level principal or AP Lead or senior counselor Person in charge of testing/scheduling Tech person (use of computer labs) Other staff who works with the “senior class”

Planning Meeting Recommended Things to Bring CollegeHigh School College Calendar Admissions Team Calendar Financial Aid Team Calendar Assessment Team Calendar Student Recruitment Team Calendar Advising Team Calendar Bell schedule School calendar A/B Block scheduling Testing calendar

College Connection Planning Meeting Demonstration

Best Practices—Before You Start Know/connect with Superintendent(s) in School District(s) Form a College/ISD planning team Form a College/High School planning team Initially use a core team of early adopters Build support for program within Tarrant County College District Understand K-12 operations Understand what is/is not required Time/effort now will reduce work later

Initially use key leaders on teams then expand to lower- level personnel Make it a “win-win” program for both sides Best Practices—Before You Start

Best Practices—Getting Started Small and successful=Others will come Get internal support from: ◦ Information Technology ◦ Public Relations ◦ Dual Credit ◦ Tech Prep ◦ Foundation ◦ Student Recruitment ◦ Student Services Do away with thinking that students “have to come to the college” to meet college processes Focus on what works for the school district

Best Practices—After You’ve Started Use publicity and press conferences at every opportunity Get Foundation involved in raising scholarships Make a presentation to each school district Board Use current staff to serve on teams Expand personnel requests through budget process/master plan process Keep College Board of Trustees involved

Best Practices—After You’ve Started Continually thank and recognize participants Involve staff in recognitions Keep College Connection process simple Name a single point-of-contact for problem solving Utilize technology for communication including web, listserv, and online calendars (I-Cal) Build a superintendents’ list

Best Practices—After You’ve Started Increased enrollments will build programs and support staff Many good “off shoots” develop: ◦ Chamber of Commerce events/support ◦ Grants and Contracts ◦ Annexation ◦ Scholarships ◦ Continuing education ◦ Training ◦ Teacher certification ◦ Instructional Aide Training ◦ Dual Credit ◦ Tech Prep ◦ Other

Best Practices—After You’ve Started Have joint College and School District Board meetings Form College/ISD Executive Team Provide immediate response/service Pace for success

Common Challenges

Questions and Answers

For copies: PowerPoint Presentation: Handouts: