June 2008

Two New National Initiatives from the Pathways to College Network
The Pathways to College Network has launched two new national, multi-year initiatives that build on action items currently in our Communications Campaign project. The Academic and Social Support Strategies Initiative expands our work to develop, document, and disseminate support strategies that align with academically rigorous standards championed by groups such as Achieve, Inc. The primary goal of Pathways’ new national initiative is to promote those strategies that align with high academic rigor standards to increase the number of underserved students who graduate high school and succeed in college.

The second initiative, Early Commitment of Financial Aid, grew out of our Communications Campaign interests to promote policies and practices that provide low-income students with an early assurance of having the funds necessary to pay for college. Through our new national effort, Pathways seeks to increase the number of states and communities that establish programs that provide an early commitment of financial aid for underserved students.
[read the Academic and Social Support preliminary overview]
[read the Early Commitment of Finanacial Aid preliminary overview]

Future issues of the newsletter will highlight developments on these initiatives to keep our readers up-to-date on this work. If you have information that you would like to share related to Academic and Social Support Strategies or Early Commitment of Financial Aid, please email Jessica Krywosa, Project Manager, at krywosa@teri.org.

Pathways Policy Summit
On June 9^th and 10^th, Pathways to College Network in partnership with NCAN, NCCEP, and COE held an invitational state policy summit in Boulder, Colorado. More than 40 professionals from a variety of policy related backgrounds participated in the two-day event. Resources, research, and current activities were shared as the group worked towards finding best practices for directors of state NCAN, GEAR UP, and TRIO programs.

Pathways College Access Marketing Summit
Pathways to College Network and Lumina Foundation for Education held a gathering of national youth- and parent-serving organizations on June 19^th and 20^th at Lumina Foundation offices in Indianapolis, Indiana. The discussion provided an excellent opportunity to explore the aspects and best practices of college access marketing and to help organizations determine ways to use these techniques to provide college-going messaging to their constituents. Participants were able to learn more about social marketing and discuss with their colleagues ways in which they are challenged and empowered to carry out this work going forward.

Upcoming Conferences
The State Higher Education Executive Officers will hold its Higher Education Policy Conference August 12-15 at The Westin San Diego. This annual meeting provides a forum for state-level academic, finance, government relations and communications officers, and others to discuss, share, and learn about how major higher education policy issues are being addressed at the state and national levels. Go to hepc.sheeo.org for conference registration, hotel reservations, and information.

The National Conference of State Legislatures' 2008 Legislative Summit is in New Orleans July 22 - 26. Program and registration information is available at www.ncsl.org/summit/.

Education Beyond the Rhetoric: Making ‘Rigor’ Something Real
This new policy brief is published by the State Scholars Initiative, which is administered by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education and funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The report underscores the need to define academic rigor, demonstrates how students today receive a confusing array of messages about what is necessary in high school and required in college, and outlines suggestions on how to create systems of education that are more responsive to the needs of students entering a rapidly changing world.
[Read the brief]

Raising Graduation Rates in an Era of High Standards: Five Commitments for State Action
This report, part of a joint project of Achieve, Inc. and Jobs for the Future, targets state leaders grappling the challenge of simultaneously raising academic standards and increasing graduation rates. The report suggests that leaders need to pay particular attention to closing graduation and achievement gaps among different income and racial groups. Raising Graduation Rates identifies five key outcomes and suggests strategies and action steps policymakers can take. By building on and complementing ongoing systemic educational reform efforts, states can improve the educational outcomes of, and options for, high school-aged students, especially low-income and academically struggling students.
[Read the report]

From High School to the Future: Potholes on the Road to College
From High School to the Future is the second report in a series investigating whether Chicago Public School students who aspire to four-year colleges are effectively participating in the college search and application process and where they encounter potholes on the road to college. Researchers with the Consortium on Chicago School Research at the University of Chicago examine how students manage the college application process and what types of colleges they apply to and ultimately enroll in. An important aspect of the study is the extent to which high school educators can create environments that support students in this process.
[Read the report]

A Matter of Trust: Ten Key Insights from Recent Public Opinion Research on Attitudes About Education Among Hispanic Parents, Students and Young Adults
This recently released publication by Public Agenda reports that Hispanic parents view going to college as necessary for success in the workforce, while documenting the extent to which they perceive substantial financial and other barriers to college.
[Read the report]

Condition of Education 2008
The Education Department has released the 2008 edition of The Condition of Education, an annual compilation of statistics from various agency studies. The trends covered in the higher education sectors are not new, but some data sets have been updated — and many educators find the compilation particularly useful for grouping data together.
[Read the compilation]

Helping Community College Students Cope with Financial Emergencies: Lessons from the Dreamkeepers and Angel Fund Emergency Financial Aid Programs
This is the final report from MDRC of two programs created by Lumina Foundation for Education to assist community college students at risk of dropping out because of unexpected financial crises. Eleven community colleges participated in Dreamkeepers, and 26 tribal colleges or universities participated in Angel Fund. Both student aid recipients and administrators say the emergency aid helped students remain in college, and data show that aid recipients reenroll at rates roughly comparable to the average on their campuses. The report suggests several key challenges for colleges interested in starting similar programs.
[Read the report]

Modeling Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs): Campus Practices That Work For Latino Students
This new report from Excelencia in Education examines HSIs with high Latino enrollments and degree production. The report found that the campuses work deliberately to implement broad-scale changes, including improving academic support and community relations and implementing new data systems that strengthen decision making and enable campus leaders, faculty, and staff to better monitor what is happening with their Latino student population. The report offers several guiding practices for institutions experiencing growing Latino student enrollment and seeking to serve nontraditional students.
[Read the report]