In recent months several collaborative college access campaigns have been making news nationwide. These programs help underrepresented and low-income college students realize that a postsecondary education is within their grasp, and then help them to learn what they need to achieve that goal.
"Prospective college students from low-income families dream of a postsecondary education but many times find themselves unsure of what resources are available to them," said Tim Christensen, NASFAA Vice President for Planning & Development. "Getting that information into their hands is the first step in keeping these students on the path to higher education."
This article focuses on four college access campaigns that have been gaining momentum: College Goal Sunday, KnowHow2Go, Only a Dream, and Ready Set Go.
College Goal Sunday
Too many families - particularly minority, low income, and those with no tradition of pursuing an education beyond high school - simply do not apply for the funds that are made readily available to them. The College Goal Sunday Program (CGS) seeks to rectify that by ensuring that prospective college students receive more information, through a variety of channels, about the availability of financial aid. The program also offers families expert assistance in completing the applications required to qualify for that aid.
College Goal Sunday (CGS) began in Indiana in 1989 as a joint project of the Indiana Student Financial Aid Association (ISFAA) and the State Student Assistance Commission of Indiana (SSACI), with funding from Lilly Endowment, Inc. Since 2001 it has been funded by Lumina Foundation for Education. NASFAA began managing the program in 2004.
The CGS program has helped hundreds of thousands of students to fill out their financial aid forms. In 2007 alone it is estimated that more than 40,000 students nationwide will receive assistance in filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) through CGS. For more information on College Goal Sunday, including statewide events, see http://www.collegegoalsundayusa.org.
KnowHow2Go
The KnowHow2Go campaign reaches out to underserved students, connecting them with information and resources that will help prepare them for a postsecondary education. The campaign - a collaborative effort between the American Council on Education, Lumina Foundation for Education, and the Ad Council - uses radio and television ads, public service announcements, outdoor advertising, and an interactive Web site at www.KnowHow2Go.org to reach youth who dream of college but may not have the know-how to attain those dreams. NASFAA supported the KnowHow2Go project in an advisory capacity during its development.
The campaign encourages students to take the following four steps to prepare themselves for college.
- Be a pain - in a good way. Find an adult who can help you with the steps to college. Let everyone know you want to go to college. And don't stop until you find the adult who can help.
- Push yourself. Colleges require you to take certain classes in high school. Find out which classes and sign up!
- Find the right fit. Think about interests and activities that you enjoy. Explore colleges with programs that suit your interests.
- Get your hands on some cash. There's money out there to help pay for college. Apply for it!
Only a Dream
The nationwide public service campaign, "Only a Dream," is sponsored by the U.S Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid office. Introduced in January, 2007, this campaign is directed primarily at those students - minority, low-income and first-generation college students - who are traditionally underrepresented in the ranks of higher education.
Each year, the Department of Education awards more than $80 billion in grants, work-study, and low-interest loans to nearly 10 million postsecondary students who have completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).This campaign attempts to connect underrepresented students with those funds by using print, television, and radio public service announcements. More information is available at http://www.ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/0119IFAPAnnouncement20070117final.html.
Ready Set Go
This college marketing initiative was created in January 2007 by the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education and Massachusetts Department of Education. The campaign stresses eight steps that students must take to get ready for college. Those eight steps include:
Get Ready...
- Start planning for your future as early as middle school. What do you want to do with your life?
- Take the right classes in high school and make sure you get involved
- Prepare for - and take - the PSAT, SAT and ACT exams
Get Set...
- Keep your parents and family involved as you begin to plan your future
- Work with your high school guidance counselors or teachers to map out what classes you should take, and learn how college admissions and the financial aid process works
- Apply for financial aid early, and look for scholarship and grant opportunities.
Go To College...And Succeed!
- Find the college that’s right for you.
- Once you're at college, stay there. Put the study skills that got you to college back to work, try your best and you will succeed!
The Ready Set Go campaign also uses television and radio announcements to direct students to the Ready Set Go Web site, http://www.readysetgotocollege.com, where they can find more information and links to a number of resources about preparing for college.
More College Access Initiatives Benefit All
"It is encouraging to see so many organizations come together to help these underrepresented students," said Marcia Weston, Director of College Goal Sunday Operations.
Many of these initiatives are coordinated through and supported in various ways by the Pathways to College Network, a national alliance of organizations committed to using research-based knowledge to improve postsecondary education access and success for the nation’s underserved students. NASFAA is a lead partner in the Pathways Network. For more information, see http://pathwaystocollege.net.
"Efforts such as these will do much to get the message out that a postsecondary education is within reach for all," said Weston.
What college access efforts are going on with your institution or state? NASFAA would like to know about other regional or national campaigns. Please e-mail NASFAA at Web@NASFAA.org to tell us about other effective institutional, regional, or national collaborative campaigns.
By Justin Draeger
NASFAA Assistant Director for Communications
Posted 02/07/07 to www.NASFAA.org. Redistribution to non-NASFAA institutions is prohibited. Please submit Web Site questions or comments to Web@NASFAA.org.
