Welcome to the new National College Access Network web site!

This new site will be a resource for college access and success information, and the first step for NCAN in increasing its web presence. Please explore its contents and let us know what you think.

As NCAN proceeds on a three-year capacity building project, this web site plays a lead role. It is the first step to a greater communications plan. The site will allow NCAN to provide more services for members and more resources for the college access and success community as a whole.
 
This new NCAN web site also offers a number of new features for members. When logging in, members will be able to see the Members Only tab. This tab includes many of NCAN’s member services. This includes the Building Blocks Tool Kit, Best practices for college access programs, Member Tools page, recordings of Monthly Member Calls, and much more.

If you are interested in learning more about membership in the National College Access Network, have feedback for the web site, or need login assistance, please contact Carrie Warick, Director of Member Services.

NCAN Awarded TG Public Benefit Grant for National Advisor Training

The National College Access Network is pleased to announce approval of a TG Public Benefit Grant in support of a national training for both novice and veteran college access program advisors. This project seeks to provide training for advisors by equipping them with the necessary skills to address many of the barriers that may keep qualified students from pursuing and completing a postsecondary education. NCAN also congratulates its 19 members also receiving TG Public Benefit Grants.

“With the recent reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, the impending changes to the financial aid process, and the current economic crisis, advisors need to be well-versed in the options available to students and their families for the country to reach the President’s 2020 goal,” says NCAN Executive Director Kim Kiely. “This generous grant from TG will allow NCAN to prepare its advisors for these changes and challenges ahead.”

To enhance their skills and to share effective strategies that will benefit the students, parents, and adult learners they are charged to advise, NCAN will conduct a national training session in August 2010 that will target 100 advisors from its member programs. The training will ensure the advisors are well-trained on a range of topics including academic preparation for postsecondary education, standardized testing and college entrance exams, the college admissions process, financial aid, scholarship applications, parental involvement, career preparation and ethical issues. Each participant will be given a pre- and post-assessment; access to follow-up, bi-monthly webinars; and an updated advisor manual that can be used as a resource and as a training mechanism for other staff members. In addition, all NCAN member programs will receive a DVD of the training and given access to an electronic copy of the Advisor Training Manual for in-house professional development.

The long-term goal is to be able to provide an advisor certification program that will produce advisers who are experts in the college preparation and application process.

TG has awarded more than $6.2 million in competitive grants to 55 institutions and nonprofit organizations to advance access to college, student retention, and educational research. This is the fifth consecutive year that TG awarded the competitive grants through its Public Benefit Grant Program, the company's philanthropic initiative. NCAN’s 20 member programs received almost $2.5 million in grant money and are outlined on the subsequent pages.

TG's Public Benefit Grant Program is administered based solely on merit and need, and without regard to the business of TG or any form of quid pro quo consideration. For more information on the TG Public Benefit Program, please visit www.tgslc.org/publicbenefit.

TG is a public, nonprofit corporation that helps create access to higher education for millions of families and students through its role as an administrator of the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP). Its vision is to be the premier source of information, financing, and assistance to help all families and students realize their educational and career dreams. Additional information about TG can be found online at www.tgslc.org. This press release can be downloaded from www.tgslc.org/newsroom.

Incorporated in 1995 and headquartered in Washington, DC, the mission of the National College Access Network (NCAN) is to improve access to and success in postsecondary education for disadvantaged, underrepresented, and first-generation students. NCAN does this by supporting a network of state and local college access programs that provide counseling, advice, and financial assistance; sharing best practices among the network; providing leadership and technical assistance; and helping establish new college access programs. For more information http://www.collegeaccess.org/

NCAN Members Receiving TG Public Benefit Grants

National College Access Network Inc.; Washington, DC
National Advisor Training for College Access Programs; $147,710

ACCESS College Foundation; Norfolk, VA
Year Two — From College Access to College Retention; $41,833

Admission Possible; St. Paul, MN
Admission Possible; $125,000

Associated Colleges of Illinois; Chicago, IL
Intensive Science and Math Experience; $120,000

Cincinnati Youth Collaborative; Cincinnati, OH
Project REACH and the REACHout Alumni Program; $103,700

The College Crusade of Rhode Island; Providence, RI
RI Gear Up; $105,982

College Forward; Austin, TX
"Getting Through" Initiative: College Success for Low-Income Students; $78,170

College Forward; Austin, TX
Campus by Campus — Partnership Building for College Access; $199,055

College Horizons, Inc.; Pena Blanca, NM
College Horizons & Graduate Horizons; $290,940

Denver Scholarship Foundation; Denver, CO
College Access: Montbello and West High Schools; $100,000

Dynamy; Worcester, MA
Youth Academy; $75,000

Education is Freedom Foundation; Dallas, TX
Dallas Outcomes and Process Evaluation; $128,100

Franklin & Marshall College – Keystone College Advising Corps; Lancaster, PA
Expanding College Access in Rural Pennsylvania; $158,741

Fulfillment Fund; Los Angeles, CA
College Access & Success Model; $100,000

Philadelphia Futures for Youth; Philadelphia, PA
Sponsor-a-Scholar Freshman Recruitment and On-boarding; $71,435

San Antonio Education Fund; San Antonio, TX
Creating Pathways: A College Transition Project; $157,625

The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis; St. Louis, MO
Bravo Grant Program; $75,000

See Forever Foundation / Maya Angelou PCS; Washington, DC
Dreams Realized Through Transitional and Alumni Support; $80,000

Student Assistance Foundation; Helena, MT
A Step Ahead — College Prep Camp; $10,000

University of Missouri; Columbia, MO
Missouri College Advising Corps; $101,299

University of Texas at El Paso; El Paso, TX
START; $148,549

University of Utah – Utah College Advising Corps; Salt Lake City, UT
Increasing College Access: Expanding Utah's College Advising Corps; $76,411

Join National College Access Network

Many students - young and old - dream of going to college. But with the rising cost of tuition and the limited availability of need-based financial aid, that dream has become harder and harder to realize. We must work together to turn things around.

The National College Access Network is dedicated to assisting local communities all over the country initiate, develop and sustain their own college access programs. Collectively our member organizations have helped over 4 million students continue their education beyond high school. And, we're just getting started. The opportunities to make a difference are unlimited.

As a member of the National College Access Network, you'll enjoy benefits only a national network like ours can provide:

• Exposure to, and networking with, the nation's leading experts on college access.
• Participation in a network that drives student advocacy for access to college on the local, state and national levels.
• Regular updates on trends in college admissions, financial aid, and career path development needed to help students and their families prepare for college or postsecondary education.
• Technical assistance for existing programs.
• Access to thousands of students who need information on topics related to entering college - admission and financial aid advice, student loans, scholarships, managing college finances and more.

Incorporated in 1995, the mission of NCAN is to support member programs that inspire and motivate students to access postsecondary education. Through advising and financial assistance, our members share a commitment to encourage and enable students to set and achieve educational goals. As a member of NCAN, your program will join with other college access programs, higher education information centers and organizations committed to helping first generation, low income and under-represented students from across the country access, enroll and succeed in college. NCAN members are located in communities across the country and, collectively, have helped over 4 million of students continue their education beyond high school.

If you have any questions, please contact our office by phone at 202-347-4848 or toll free at 866-941-6122, or via e-mail at ncan@collegeaccess.org.