02 May 2011
Michigan State University joins with the University of Michigan to get more high school students to college
Chapel Hill – May 2, 2011: The National College Advising Corps, with headquarters at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is pleased to announce the addition of Michigan State University (MSU) to its national collaboration. MSU will join the 15 established partnerships between the Advising Corps and prestigious colleges and universities across the country, and will work toward Michigan’s statewide goal to increase the proportion of Michigan residents with college degrees or high-quality credentials to 60% by the year 2025. MSU will collaborate with the Michigan College Access Network (MCAN) to place up to sixteen recent graduates of MSU into high schools in underserved communities across Michigan. These advisers will guide students through the college admissions process and help them to identify the schools that will serve them well.
“We are thrilled to have Michigan State University join our national partnership,” said Nicole Farmer Hurd, PhD, founder and executive director of the Advising Corps. “With the support of The Kresge Foundation, we have identified Michigan as having a high need and capacity for college access services, and we are proud to be one of the organizations working in Michigan to move more students toward college enrollment and degree completion. We partner with counselors and other school administrators to work with students directly on college access issues to make sure that those who are well-qualified to attend college actually apply and enroll.”
For the 2011-2012 school year, the Michigan College Access Network (MCAN) is partnering with the University of Michigan and Michigan State University to support the placement of 32 recent college graduates in urban and rural high schools throughout the state.
“These corps members help Michigan move closer to our big goal of 60% educational attainment by 2025,” said Brandy Johnson, Executive Director of MCAN. “Only about 36% of Michigan adults have a college degree. The advisers will help us move the needle on our state’s college participation and completion rates, particularly among low-income, first-generation college students, by ensuring students are prepared for college – socially, academically, informationally, and financially.”
The National College Advising Corps is an innovative program that works to increase the number of low-income, first-generation-college, underrepresented students who enter and complete higher education. Through a nationwide consortium of colleges and universities, recent graduates of partner colleges and universities are hired, trained and placed as full-time college advisers in underserved high schools in both urban and rural areas. The Advising Corps serves communities across the country to provide the guidance and encouragement that many students need to navigate the complex web of college admissions and secure financial aid. In addition, advisers work to raise the college-going rates within those schools, which is a profound indicator of whether students will take the steps necessary to actually apply and enroll.
To date, the Advising Corps has served more than 112,000 students since its inception in 2004. In school year 2010-2011, 175 advisers representing 14 institutions of higher education will reach over 65,000 students in 219 high schools. In school year 2011-2012, the number of advisers will expand to over 300 with the potential to reach over 100,000 high school students during the year.
Currently, the Advising Corps has programs in partnership with the following institutions of higher education: Brown University; Franklin & Marshall College; Penn State; Tufts University; the University of Alabama; the University of California, Berkeley; the University of Georgia; the University of Illinois; the University of Michigan; the University of Missouri; the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; the University of Texas at Austin; the University of Utah; and the University of Virginia; as well as a program in the State of Alaska.
For more information please visit: www.micollegeaccess.org or www.advisingcorps.org.
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MEDIA CONTACT: Lisa King, Michigan College Access Network
E:
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T: 517.316.1713
MEDIA CONTACT: Mia Xavier, National College Advising Corps
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T: 919.962.5324
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