College Advising Corps

Presentation for North Carolina College Access & Completion Convening

1. Strengthening the College Pipeline for North Carolina’s Students

2. Amir Farokhi Chief Operating Officer Meredith Bazemore Regional Program Director

3. The national student-to-school guidance counselor ratio of 488:1 means that the average student spends 20 minutes per year talking to a counselor. In NC: 375:1

4. The Need According to the U.S. Department of Education, 90% of the fastest-growing jobs today require a postsecondary education. Many low-income, first-generation college, and underrepresented students do not receive the advice and support they need to identify and enroll in colleges where they will persist to degree. Nearly 25% of low-income students who score in the top quartile on standardized tests never go to college. Of those who do enroll, many do not obtain a degree.

5. Our Innovative Model Near-peer college advisers full-time in high schools 60% of advisers are low-income, first-generation college and/or underrepresented themselves Two-year service opportunity for recent college graduates Intensive pre- and in-service training Research-based, “college match” strategy Helps students enroll in schools that will serve them well Not a recruitment program for partner colleges/universities Open-door , whole school approach N o cost to students and families Serves students through partnership Schools, communities, families and higher education Anchors at postsecondary institutions

6. Rural Expansion with In 2013, the Carolina College Advising Corps was serving 54 high schools in NC, 22 of which were rural. In 2014, JMBE came to us and indicated an interest in serving more of NC’s rural students to help drive state economic development.

7. Expansion in rural North Carolina 7 54 Carolina CAC partner schools (2013) 22 Carolina CAC partner schools are designated “rural” Excludes vocational, exceptional children, alternative, charter, and schools that do not currently serve 11 th and 12 th grade Addt’l screens may include: Free/reduced lunch rates County bachelors degree attainment Geographic proximity An eye to statewide saturation/closing regional gaps Other programmatic criteria Source: NC DPI

8. 4 Great Partners + 64 New A dvisers + Strengthening the College Pipeline for NC Rural Students

9. 2015-2016 in North Carolina 52 counties served (*complete or near-complete saturation in 23 counties) Alamance Alexander* Avery* Bertie Bladen* Cabarrus Caldwell* Caswell* Catawba Chatham* Cherokee* Davidson Dare* Duplin* Durham Edgecombe Franklin* Gaston Graham* Granville* Greene Guilford Halifax* Hertford Johnston Iredell Lee Martin* Mecklenburg Moore Nash Northampton* Pender Person* Pitt Robeson Rockingham* Rowan Rutherford* Sampson* Stanley Stokes Surry* Swain Union Vance* Wake Warren* Washington* Wayne Wilkes Yadkin 10

10. Held 50,893 1:1 meetings with 10,985 seniors; Helped 3,037 students register for the SAT and 832 students register for the ACT; Helped with 24,449 college applications; and Helped secure $ 25,600,633 scholarships and institutional aid for the Class of 2015.   In 2014-15, CAC Advisers in North Carolina: Compared to the seniors in their school who did not meet with a CAC adviser, students who did meet with a CAC adviser in North Carolina were: 26% more likely to submit their FAFSA 23% more likely to apply to college; 17% more likely to be accepted to college

11. Closing the Gap: Impact of College Advising Corps on Students Served

12. The gap in applying to 1 or more colleges is reversed with a change of 4 percentage points

13. The gap in applying for FAFSA is closed by 4.5 percentage points

14. The gap in being accepted to 1 or more colleges is closed by 6.8 percentage points

15. College Advising Corps

16. a dvisingcorps.org