College GO! and College Application Day

Shannon Elward

Assistant Director of Communications

October 2018

College GO!

Annual Campaigns

Three annual statewide campaigns:

1) College GO! –– Fall

2) Cash for College –– Winter/Spring

3) Career Ready –– Spring/Summer

Guiding principles:

1) Clear college success focus for each campaign

2) Specific, practical steps for students at each level

3) State driven, locally led

College GO!

• Started in 2009 with a focus on high school students

– Later expanded to all K-12 students

• Encourage schools to create a college-going culture

• Encourage students to think about all of their postsecondary options

• Officially kicked off the last week of September (24-28)

College GO! Goals

K-8 Students:– Increase aspirations for postsecondary education– Support college and career exploration– Enrollment in 21st Century Scholars

High School Students:– 9th grade: Create a graduation plan– 10th grade: Complete a career interest assessment– 11th grade: Visit a college campus– 12th grade: Apply to college

Scholar Success Program

Resources

LearnMoreIndiana.org/classroom-materials

Planning Materials– Learn More campaigns starter kit that includes key dates and

suggestions on how to implement all three annual campaigns– Sample school announcements for elementary, middle and high

school students (ex: trivia, fun facts)– Printable bulletin board kits

Classroom Activities– Printable activities for k-12 students on college and career

preparation– List of virtual college tours in Indiana– Grade-banded lesson plans about college aligned with annual

Learn More magazines

What Are Schools Doing?

What Are Schools Doing?

What Are Schools Doing?

College Application Day

College Application Day

• Started in 2004 in North Carolina, later expanded to all 50 states through the American College Application Campaign (ACAC) an initiative of the American Council on Education (ACE)– Indiana started participating in 2013

• Goal: get more students, especially low-income and first-generation students, to apply to college

• Indiana College Application Day: September 28

College Application Day Background

Participation has been steadily increasing:

– 2013: 8 events

– 2014: 36 events

– 2015: 41 events

– 2016: 30 events

– 2017: 47 events

– 2018 engagement goal: 75+ events

College Application Day Efforts

• Schools hosting events used an online form to become an official host site– Host an application event during the school day

(doesn’t have to be on College Application Day)

– Submit participation data to CHE

• Official Host sites received a College Application Day kit– Stickers, printables, small number of promotional

materials

Resources

Planning Materials– College Application Day manual that gives detailed information

about starting an event– Student instructions– College research & info worksheet– Parent letter– Sign-in/ sign-out sheet– Data collection sheet– Sample volunteer tasks– Next steps sheet for students– Questions about college handout

LearnMoreIndiana.org/classroom-materials

Resources

College Application Day Efforts

17 colleges/universities waived application fees, and 15 colleges/universities reported free applications year-round:

– (17) Waiving fees: Earlham College, Goshen College, Huntington University, Indiana State University, IU East, IU Fort Wayne, IU Kokomo, IU Northwest, IU South Bend, IU Southeast, IUPUC, Indiana Wesleyan University, Purdue Fort Wayne, Purdue Northwest, University of Southern Indiana, Vincennes University, Wabash College

– (15) Free applications year-round: Anderson University, Bethel College, DePauw University, Franklin College, Grace College, Hanover College, Indiana Tech, Ivy Tech, Manchester University, Marian University, Saint Mary’s College, Trine University, University of Evansville, University of Indianapolis, Valparaiso University

What Are Schools Doing?

College Application Day Efforts

Hosted two large-scale kick-off events: West Side Leadership Academy (Gary) and Corydon Central High School (Corydon)

– Both events had representatives from area colleges

– Staff split up to attend events and field staff in the Northwest and Southeast regions attended

College Application Day Efforts

College Application Day Efforts

• Received Governor’s Proclamation for College Application Day

• Issued a College Application Day press release, which got roughly 30 media hits

• In total, more than 90 schools signed up to be official host sites

Early Results

• So far, 31 schools have reported 1670 students submitting 2084 applications

• Total savings of $72,940 (assuming each application costs $35—average cost of a regional campus application)

• Data submissions are due November 15

Questions?