By Frederick Johnson IV, Senior Director of CA Next, and Kelly Mae Ross, NCAN Communications Manager
Members, partners, and friends of NCAN know that COVID-19 has thrown immense hurdles in the paths of students striving to transition from high school to college.
Unfortunately, and unsurprisingly, these challenges have not been equally distributed. Amid the economic, health, and other impacts caused by the pandemic, students of color and students from low-income backgrounds are experiencing the largest declines
in Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) completion and postsecondary enrollment.
In response to these disruptions, NCAN awarded 23 grants, totaling $1.6 million, to college access and success
organizations across the country who are going above and beyond this spring and summer to support students with FAFSA completion as well as college enrollment and persistence. These grants were made possible thanks to the generous support of The Kresge Foundation’s Education Program.
Over the coming weeks and months, we’ll be sharing the grantees’ creative strategies for helping their students transition to college and experience success once there. We’ll also explore how these organizations are maximizing partnerships, some of the
challenges they’ve faced, and how they are gauging success.
This week we’re learning from CA Next, which received funding to enhance its college and career advising efforts and persistence initiatives.
CA Next is a postsecondary advising program that serves graduates of Collegiate Academies: a network of six open-enrollment charter high schools in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. CA Next is designed to support all Collegiate graduates in accessing
and completing college or their most rigorous postsecondary pathway and to empower alumni to thrive in school and beyond.
As of May 2021, CA Next reached 2,365 Collegiate alumni, with 600 students graduating annually from Collegiate high schools.
The size of the CA Next team – there are 10 staff members on board for the 2021-22 year (including two Collegiate alumni) – relative to the number of students they serve is not something all college access and success organizations can achieve, usually
due to budget constraints. However, there are some strategies CA Next uses that other organizations may be able to replicate, even with higher student-to-adviser ratios.
School-Year Strategies
In addition to larger events focused on completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and college applications, CA Next brings together groups of students from across its high schools who are interested in attending the same college
or university. The goal is to help students build relationships with each other early and navigate enrollment steps together.
NCAN members know that, unfortunately, college application costs can add up fast. To address this, CA Next planned to use some of its grant funding to cover the cost for students to use the Common Black College Application,
which allows students to apply to more than 60 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) at once, as well as enrollment fees.
In the spring, CA Next arranged for students (seniors, but also sophomores and juniors) to meet virtually with representatives from area colleges, including Dillard University, Louisiana State University, Tougaloo College, Alcorn State University, and
the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Over eight weeks, students learned about programming unique to each school; had opportunities to discuss applying and admissions, ask questions about campus life, fit, affordability, and more; and received
hands-on support with their applications.
In light of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, CA next is also producing up-to-date resources for students and families that clearly outline changes in policies, expectations, admissions, and more at regional colleges and universities, as well as those
most attended by Collegiate Academies students. Advisers have helped, and will continue to help, students and families understand COVID’s impact at the individual college of their choice, as well (e.g., virtual learning options, waived testing requirements,
changes to housing).
Summer Enrollment Support
As the 2020-21 school year wound down, CA Next continued to hold one-on-one and small-group meetings with students to review financial aid offers, complete housing forms and other critical paperwork, register for classes, and more.
Moving into the summer, contingent on COVID safety protocols, CA Next also hoped to:
Lead campus cohort events that bring students together to visit the college or university they are attending to meet one another, get a sense of the campus, and meet with representatives from the school.
Collaborate with partner colleges and universities to offer direct support in completing enrollment steps. Higher education partners who will host dedicated enrollment events in collaboration with CA Next include Dillard University, University of
Louisiana at Lafayette, University of New Orleans, Delgado Community College, Xavier University, Southeastern University, Northshore Technical Community College, Louisiana State University, Southern University Baton Rouge, and Baton Rouge Community
College.
Enlist the support of older Collegiate Academies alumni interns, which CA Next hires to serve as near-peer mentors to recent graduates navigating the transition process from high school to college.
Persistence Initiatives
During the 2020-21 school year, CA Next offered microgrants to Collegiate Academies alumni to help them cover expenses such as food, medicine, transportation, internet access, and more during the economic turmoil caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
CA Next plans to “continue to raise money through individual donations to ensure all students have what they need to thrive in school and life, regardless of the pervasive economic inequities of our region and country.”
NCAN understands that not all organizations have the resources to offer emergency aid. We’ve joined with the Today’s Students Coalition to advocate for a federally funded emergency aid program that would reach more students and extend beyond the pandemic.
In addition to financial support, CA Next will serve the high school class of 2021 during their first semester of college via one-on-one advising, complemented by a campus-specific cohort advising model. This includes group social events that support
students’ sense of belonging, alongside events with campus offices that introduce students to services like TRIO, tutoring, and how to get involved in clubs.
Alumni are further supported by CA Next’s Peer Mentorship Program, which pairs older alumni with their younger peers. These near-peer mentors help teach mentees critical skills and habits to help them navigate academics and systems of higher education.
They also lead events to increase students’ sense of social belonging. The older alumni mentors themselves engage in regular leadership training, fulfill a substantial commitment to their mentees, and receive a stipend for their work.
Partnering With Local Nonprofits
The full scope of CA Next’s programming is made possible through local nonprofits that offer services critical to student well-being and success, including:
Creed, a mental health service provider that offers low- to no-cost service options for alumni.
ALAS, an organization that supports students and alumni who are undocumented on their path to permanent residency.
Louisiana Rehabilitative Services, which provides stipends and other wraparound supports for students with disabilities.
CA Next also works with several critical bridge year partners to keep alumni engaged in exploring postsecondary pathways, including:
JOB 1, which works with young adult career-seekers to remove the obstacles to employment through a variety of services, including career advising, mentoring, and leadership development.
LA Green Corps, which introduces youth to career paths in conservation and construction and provides training.
Collegiate Academies own Next Level NOLA, a one-year fellowship through which students can earn college credits, gain hands-on career experience, engage in success coaching, boost their ACT scores, and more.
In addition to partnering with local nonprofits, college access and success organizations not already directly connected with a K-12 school or district may consider establishing such a partnership. It’s a particularly good time to build these sorts of bridges, as the billions of dollars in COVID relief support that K-12 is receiving can be used for postsecondary transition supports. Here are some resources to help CBOs interested in establishing or strengthening their relationships with local schools and districts:
A template letter for CBOs to use in approaching potential K-12 partners.
"Invest Forward," a new site that offers detailed how-to guides for K-12 leaders on 20 potential pathways investment strategies.
Gauging Success
CA Next will track a number of metrics to measure the success of its programming, including:
The percentage of students who apply to six or more colleges that are a strong fit.
The percentage of students who commit to a college, university, or bridge program by June 2021.
The percentage of students who complete summer enrollment steps.
The percentage of students who matriculate to the same college, university, or bridge program by September 2021.
The percentage of students who complete the FAFSA.
Adviser engagement and communication data.
They will also track alumni’s performance and persistence data over the long term, as well as indicators of student well-being. This data, as well as feedback from alumni, will inform CA Next’s programming decisions moving forward.
NCAN is grateful to CA Next for sharing these insights. We will continue to follow along with the intensive efforts they are making to improve the classes of 2020 and 2021’s postsecondary outcomes.
Stay tuned to the NCAN blog for more from the 23 grantees working to improve students’ futures.
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