An Overview of the Coalition Technology Platform for Students, School Counselors and CBO Mentors

What is the Coalition for Access, Affordability, and Success? A diverse group of 90+ public and private U.S. colleges and universities (the Coalition) that has come together to develop tools to improve access to college, especially for low-income and first generation students, and to better support all students in the admissions process.

What is the Coalition for Access, Affordability, and Success? The Coalition colleges and universities are committed to providing access to students of all backgrounds and share the following characteristics:

Affordability Coalition schools represent a range of public schools with low- cost, in-state tuitions and private schools committed to meeting the full demonstrated need of all their admitted domestic students.

Successful Student Outcomes Coalition schools graduate at least 70 percent of their students within six years (with many having much higher rates).

American University Amherst College Bates College Bowdoin College Brown University Bryn Mawr College California Institute of Technology Carleton College Claremont McKenna College Clemson University Colby College Colgate University College of the Holy Cross College of William and Mary Colorado College Columbia University Connecticut College Cornell University Dartmouth College Davidson College Duke University Emory University Franklin and Marshall College Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering Georgia Institute of Technology Grinnell College Hamilton College Harvard University Haverford College Illinois State University Indiana University-Bloomington James Madison University Johns Hopkins University Miami University-Ohio Michigan State University Middlebury College Mount Holyoke College North Carolina State University Northeastern University Northwestern University Oberlin College Ohio State University Penn State Pomona College Princeton University Purdue University Reed College Rice University Rutgers University-New Brunswick Skidmore College Smith College St. Olaf College Stanford University State University of New York – Binghamton State University of New York– Buffalo State University of New York–Geneseo Swarthmore College Texas A&M University The College of New Jersey Tufts University Union College University of Chicago University of Connecticut University of Florida University of Georgia University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign University of Iowa University of Mary Washington University of Maryland-College Park University of Michigan University of Minnesota-Twin Cities University of Missouri University of New Hampshire University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University of Notre Dame University of Pennsylvania University of Pittsburgh University of Rochester University of South Carolina University of Vermont University of Virginia University of Washington Vanderbilt University Vassar College Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Wake Forest University Washington University in St. Louis Wellesley College Wesleyan University Williams College Yale University Coalition Schools

What the Coalition DOES Believe In 1.The college admission process needs ongoing innovation and improvement and that competition is a positive force for change. 2.The Coalition can leverage technology to help level the playing field in college preparation. 3.The platform the Coalition is developing will provide a supportive college exploration and application process that encourages reflection and self-discovery. 4.Early engagement supports under-resourced students during the college preparation process. 5.Our individual efforts to promote access can be significantly enhanced through the efforts of the Coalition and this free tool to schools and community-based organizations.

What the Coalition DOES NOT Believe In 1.We have a corner on access. | Many institutions do great work to provide access. Our work is grounded in research about the outcomes for students who can be financially supported throughout their college careers. 2.We have all the answers. | We are committed to working together to improve the admission process. The visibility and impact of this group of institutions confers a responsibility to act ethically and do our best work to bring about positive change. 3.We will get it all right in the first iteration. | We are committed to a process of assessment and continuous improvement. 4.We can make change overnight. | It will take time, significant effort, listening to counselors and students and more.

LOCKERCOLLABORATION PLATFORM APPLICATION PORTAL

What the Locker IS: 1.A free tool, fully owned and controlled by a student. A private place or repository for a student to keep their work (IF THEY WANT) as they progress through high school. 2.The student can share (or NOT share) individual materials from the locker with others. Access to the Locker and its contents are controlled by the student. In some cases, this will mean that the Locker is never accessed by anyone but the student. 3.A tool to help engage students in the college preparation process at the appropriate time. This will help students develop aspirations, self- awareness, and habits of reflection. 4.The Locker will be made available in April 2016.

What the Locker ISN’T: 1.The Locker and items in it are not visible to universities and colleges. Colleges and Universities will NEVER have access to student Lockers and contents in them. 2.The Locker is not something for universities and colleges to measure demonstrated interest and factor that into admissions decisions. 3.The Locker is NOT a tool to start the admissions process earlier. The Coalition believes there is an important distinction between the time to prepare for college and the time for application/admissions process.

How can a Student Use the Locker? 1.Place to store or record their proudest moments and best work in high school. 2.Store their schoolwork before submission and after grading. 3.Get feedback on individual items in their Locker from their school counselor/trusted mentors via the Collaboration Space.

What Can a Student Put in Their Locker? Anything that will help students reflect on their experiences during high school, when the time comes to apply to college. Here are a few examples: 1.A personal journal 2.A list of part-time jobs and summer work held since 9 th grade 3.A video of last year’s robotics competition 4.A few notable photographs from a service project 5.Essays and papers that are your most proud work 6.A research paper 7.Audio recording from a music performance

STUDENTLOCKER Academic Documents Listing of Part-Time Jobs and Work Essays Written Work Extracurricular Activities Multi-Media Projects Visual Arts / Music

LOCKER COLLABORATION SPACE Collaborate and share application materials of your choice with school counselors, teachers, and/or mentors.

What the Collaboration Space IS: 1.An exciting feature that the Coalition hopes more accurately reflects how students like to work today and how they expect to work in college. 2.A free space for students to invite school counselors and trusted advisors to connect with them and to help level the playing field in college preparation (distinct from a college application.) 3.A free space for school counselors and mentors to engage with their students, monitor their progress, provide advice on required courses, and advise on application steps. 4.A small step in the right direction, and one which the Coalition hopes will complement counseling and engagement efforts designed to increase access.

Whom Should a Student Invite to Collaborate? A student has complete control over whom they collaborate with via the Collaboration Space. A student will probably want to collaborate with their high school counselor. Any other counselors representing community-based organizations (CBOs) might also be good possibilities. They key is to pick someone that a student trusts. Students are also reminded that many well-meaning individuals have a way of making the process murky.

High School Counselor Portal View 1.The slides that follow will provide a visualization of the portal that high school counselors will see. 2.Will allow a designated/verified counselor from a student’s high school to see every college in the student’s “college list”, whether it is a Coalition school or not. 3.Will also be able to see the see the application status for the student's Coalition Applications, together with other pertinent information. 4.A counselor is able to see things in aggregate, as well as view an individual student record and hone in on it. Thus, a counselor will be able to see when a student adds a college to their list, starts to work on their profile or application to a college, and completes an application.

Overview of the Work-Flow The following slide shows the flowchart for how students and counselors engage with the Coalition system until point of application. ** Note that the information that high school counselors input into the high school profile (and other general information) will only need to be filled out once and will carry through for all other subsequent applications. It will also carry over to the following year and only edits will need to be made.

1.Offers a single platform to plan, build, organize, and engage students as they begin the college search, planning, and application process. 2.Simplifies the application process to Coalition member schools not currently served by other shared online application services. 3.Locker offers an online space for students to collect academic documents, record extracurricular activities, and log observations, reflections and ideas. 4.User-friendly design allows for sharing and collaboration. 5.Students can choose appropriate items from their private “Lockers” to use in their applications to Coalition schools. 6.Online platform for students allows them to engage their support network (school counselors at schools without a college planning technology platform, CBOs, or mentors) to view items from their locker and provide advice and guidance to the student. 7.Platform is fully responsive and adaptive, allowing students to engage through any computer, tablet, or mobile device. 8.Confidence that if admitted to a Coalition school, a student will be offered low-cost, in-state tuition at public institutions and financial aid to meet full need at private in institutions, and have a strong likelihood of college success at all Coalition schools. 9.Coalition schools can be trusted to meet their commitment to access and outcomes. Why Students Might Choose to Use MyCoalition.org:

1.Free college planning tools to aid school counselors, CBOs, and mentors in their work with students. 2.Free platform for online storage of college planning and application materials. 3.Reliable and stable access to applications for schools not currently served by other shared online application services. 4.The Coalition represents schools that can be recommended on the basis of commitment to access, affordability, and success. 5.A single location for researching schools, organizing materials, and at the appropriate time, applying to Coalition schools. 6.The Coalition platform emphasizes credential and application security, ensuring a dependable submission process. 7.Enhanced understanding of Coalition schools, their admissions processes, and programs and services available from their admissions offices. Coalition Benefits for High School Counselors and CBOs:

Academic Success Program Academic Success Program Dallas Achieve Atlanta America Achieves Bottom Line Breakthrough Atlanta Bridge to Enter Advanced Mathematics Learning Gateway Carolina College Advising Corps Center for Leadership Development Chicago Youth Centers ABC City Center for Collaborative Learning College Bound Today Cross Roads Mentors East Harlem Tutorial Program Heart of Los Angeles Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America Let's Get Ready Minds Matter of San Francisco NAVIGATIONS New Jersey SEEDS Next Generation Scholars Project College Counseling Rainier Scholars Reality Changers St. Ignatius College Prep Magis Program Student Assistance Foundation The College Planning Center List of CBOs to Receive Coalition System Demo for Use

LOCKER APPLICATION PORTAL For each Coalition application, the student selects relevant data from their locker to upload and submit.

What the Coalition Application IS: 1.A contemporary, mobile friendly, intuitive application developed to be intuitive to a 21st century audience. 2.A reliable alternative application that will stabilize the admissions process. Two years ago, we saw a very unstable environment.

What the Coalition Application IS NOT: 1.An application that starts in 9th grade. 2.An application meant to replace any existing applications. Rather, it is an alternative. Some schools will be moving their institutional applications over to the Coalition platform. Others (most?) will continue to accept both the Common Application and the Coalition Application.

How Colleges and Universities Might Use the Contents in a Student’s Locker in Applications: The Coalition cannot speak for all member institutions and the variety of ways in which colleges and universities will ask for/make use of the contents of a student’s Locker. However, some initial examples are as follows: A student applying to Yale might have the chance to replace the second essay with an item from their locker. The “item” is NOT a highly polished HD video shot and edited by a professional – that will NOT help a student. Rather, this could be a taped interview by an aspiring journalist, or an abstract of an extended essay, or a rough draft of their first college application essay with comments and reflections about the editing process, or a video of a slam poetry contest, or schematics from their FIRST robotics team effort. A student applying to Pomona might have to upload a graded assignment that introduces or highlights an aspect of their candidacy instead of an extra essay. A student applying to the University of Buffalo might have an enrolling student populate their enrollment portfolio with items from the Locker, allowing for greater advising from faculty and deans when they arrive on campus.

How Can I Get started? 1.Go to MyCoalition.org and register for a new account. 2.Creating a profile only takes a couple of minutes. 3.Here’s how:

MyCoalition.org The Locker and Collaboration Space will open in April The Application Portal will open (to high school seniors) in July 2016.

Visuals of Key Points of the Student Experience The following slides provide visuals of key points of the student experience – from account creation to application submission. This includes filling out the various Profile sections, adding colleges/universities to a College List, attaching items from a Locker, and requesting recommendations.

MyCoalition.org