Panelist Elena Gil is an attorney and alumna of the National Hispanic Scholarship Fund.

On March 9, the Rethinking Student Aid study group launched the first in a series of cross-country public policy discussions at the California State "University", "East Bay" campus. The roundtable “Rethinking Student Aid: Why Simple Doesn’t Have to Be Hard … And Why Our Future Depends On It” sparked a provocative discussion among about 100 students, financial aid officers, college and
career counselors,
higher education leaders, policymakers, and advocates for
educational opportunity.

The series of public policy discussions being held across the nation in 2009 are occurring at a critical time. President Barack Obama set a new goal for the U.S. to regain its world leadership
in the proportion of adults with a college degree. His 2010 budget goes beyond just increasing funding levels for students; it also takes a major step toward overhauling a student financial
aid system whose piecemeal, byzantine construction no longer serves today’s and
tomorrow’s students.

The president’s proposals support the goals and principles that underlie the Rethinking Student Aid policy recommendations, which, if legislated, would result in Pell Grants being more predictable for low-income students, loan subsidies being better targeted and incentives for institutions to help students succeed, not just enroll, getting a significant boost. These proposals generated a high-energy discussion at the event co-hosted by California State University at its East Bay campus and the College Board, with financial support from the Lumina Foundation for Education. The urgency of the current economic crisis and the clear commitment within Congress and the administration to strengthen higher education provide the perfect opportunity for the higher education community to improve the student aid system.

Allison Jones, assistant vice chancellor of academic affairs at California State University and a College Board Trustee, moderated the discussion, and Michael McPherson, president of the Spencer Foundation and co-chair of the Rethinking Student Aid study group, introduced the roundtable, providing background about the project and highlighting aspects of the recommendations. Each roundtable participant spoke from his or her perspective about why the federal student financial aid system needs to change.

F. King Alexander, president of California State University, Long Beach, stressed the need for additional federal support for institutions serving significant numbers of students from low-income backgrounds. He supported the idea of providing fiscal incentives to institutions to enroll low-income students. Robert J. Birgeneau, chancellor of University of California, Berkeley, shared with the group that he was the first in his family to finish high school and that financial aid allowed him to pursue his academic career. He spoke about his concern for students from middle-income families who don’t qualify for either Pell Grants or state grants, but who have a difficult time paying for a University of California education.

Susan Murphy, director of enrollment and financial services at the University of San Francisco, said that the complexity of today’s student financial aid system means that financial aid professionals have lost touch with the students they serve. With a simpler system, professionals could spend more time helping students and parents with special circumstances, developing effective communication tools and supporting retention efforts and financial literacy.

Shannon Sakamoto, college and career counselor at Lincoln High School in San Jose, Calif., called for earlier information about financial aid. The common concern she hears from her high school and college students is, “How am I supposed to pay for college?” With early education, students and their families would be more focused on academic preparation and less stressed about how they would pay, she argued.

Starla Gay, a student at the California State University, East Bay, and a single parent who has worked to support her children while enrolling part-time, made the case that her financial problems and the complexity of the system have resulted in less time for her to focus on her academic responsibilities. Elena Gil, an attorney and a first-generation college graduate, spoke about the complexity of the FAFSA and the embarrassment of not understanding the financial terminology. She added that the system seems arbitrary and that there is no certainty about eligibility among her friends and family members.

Other panelists included Timothy P. Bonnel, student financial aid programs coordinator for the California Community Colleges System Office, and Kim Mazzuca, president of the Marin
Education Fund.

Congressman George Miller’s district director, Barb Johnson, spoke briefly from the audience to say how helpful it was to hear “on-the-ground” comments about the student financial aid system. Jacqueline Bradley, assistant dean of financial aid and EOPS at Mendocino College and president-elect of the California Community Colleges Student Financial Aid Administrators Association, voiced her support for the report’s recommendations.

The discussion concluded with Allison Jones telling the panel that “in my 40 years in financial aid and higher education, this is the first time in my memory that we have such a substantive paper that has put the issues on the table in such a creative and masterful way to generate
public conversation.”

Additional public discussions are in the planning stages and will take place in the coming months. Information will be posted online, along with the Rethinking Student Aid study group’s report and statements of support at:

www.collegeboard.com/rethinkingstudentaid.

To read an editorial written by CSU President Alexander following the policy roundtable, go to:

www.californiaprogressreport.com.

VP Al Mijares

College Board Higher Education staff from the Western Regional Office conducted a workshop in February at Willamette University, titled “Forecasting for Enrollment Success: Strategies in Change Markets,” as a part of the university’s enrollment workshop. Participants examined data on Oregon test-takers and students sending scores to Oregon institutions, learned about the impact of the economic downturn on higher education institutions and discussed ways in which to better recruit students during these
challenging times.

WRO staff also conducted presentations at the Western Association for College Admission Counseling’s “Share, Learn and Connect” counselor workshop on Score Choice™; securing accommodations for College Board assessments; helping low-income students navigate the admissions and financial aid process; and using SAT® and PSAT/NMSQT® data to talk with faculty and administrators about student performance. And the College Board sponsored and participated in the annual conference of Asian Pacific Americans in Higher Education.

I want to express my congratulations to San Francisco’s John O'Connell High School for hosting its first Annual College Night. Building on the San Francisco Unified School District’s initiative to promote a college-going culture by administering the PSAT/NMSQT to all sophomores, the staff at O'Connell delivered an exceptional College Night, with high participation among parents and students. Students in the Advancement Via Individual Determination program served as tour guides, as mentors for students held sessions in the computer lab. We salute the school for this innovative approach, using AVID students to shepherd families through the college- and career-planning tools in My College QuickStart™.

For the past three years, the College Board has been working with Prairie Middle School in Aurora, Colo., as it implemented the SpringBoard® English Language Arts curriculum. Prairie has made dramatic progress. Since introducing SpringBoard, Prairie leads the Cherry Creek School District’s 13 middle schools on Colorado Student Assessment Program scores. The College Board would like to thank Prairie Middle School for recently attending the College Board’s Western Regional Forum and sharing its insights about the SpringBoard program with representatives from other districts across the region.

The Advanced Placement® Incentive Program held three professional development workshops in San Diego in February and March. Each workshop had 50 or more participants and addressed topics like Pre-AP® vertical teaming in English language arts and mathematics and, with help from our National Office for School Counselor Advocacy, counselor data analysis. 

The University of Washington’s Two Valleys — One Vision GEAR UP program, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Education, authorized the College Board to provide all 2,000 of the program’s students the opportunity to take the PSAT/NMSQT in an effort to show educators weaknesses and strengths in their curriculum and start students on the path to college. A suite of professional development programs tied to the diagnostic data provided by the PSAT/NMSQT will improve instruction. Teachers will receive the College Board's Setting the Cornerstones™ training, with research-based strategies to improve instructional design aligned to standards. Vertical team training in reading, science and mathematics will help teachers work together in professional learning communities, with special instruction on teaching English language learners. Students will benefit from access to online tools, My College QuickStart and MyRoad®, to acquaint them with their skills.

In an informal survey, attendees at the Western Regional Forum rated highest in importance their interactions with colleagues from across the region and the valuable information gained from
the sessions.

The surveys were distributed at College Board President Gaston Caperton’s plenary sessions at each forum and were designed to collect feedback about the forums, particularly in today’s difficult economic climate. About 60 people at the Western Regional Forum completed the survey.

“It is affirming to see how much our members value the forums and in-person meetings,” said Mary Carroll Scott, vice president of membership. “The question for us is, how do we accomplish that effective communication and professional development in difficult economic times, when it’s all the more important to share ideas.”

Nationwide, attendance at the regional forums was down from 2008, with many people saying the economy was hindering opportunities to travel and attend professional development programs

Western participants also strongly agreed in large numbers that the quality of the regional forum presentations is high and that they use the information to improve their work.

In related research conducted through an e-mail survey, about 45 percent of respondents indicated that the workshops and sessions are what primarily draw them to the regional forums. About 30 percent said interaction with colleagues is their primary motivation, and seven out of 10 respondents said that the sessions offered for their profession adequately met their needs.

A few sessions that respondents found most valuable were “Vanilla Girl/Blasé Boy: Gender Issues in College Admissions,” “Mountains to Molehills: The Higher Education Legislative Front” and “It’s All About Me.”

The luncheon with keynote speaker Da Chen was particularly popular, with 95 percent of respondents saying they were satisfied or very satisfied by it.

Following Oregon’s administration of the PSAT/NMSQT®, educators were offered 20 informative data analysis workshops around the state. Because the exam was administered to nearly 27,000 sophomores — all paid for by the state — comprehensive data were generated about students’ skills that can help improve instruction. The Summary of Answers and Skills /AP Potential™ Workshops help faculty employ the data accompanying the PSAT/NMSQT, maximizing the benefits of the SOAS report and the AP Potential tool. The workshops focused on ensuring that the diagnostic, academic, and college- and career-planning aspects of the test are fully used by students, teachers, counselors and district administrators. AP Potential identifies low-income, first-generation college students who can succeed in collegiate AP® classes. The Oregon workshops acquainted educators with the comprehensive data that resulted from the 296 percent increase in participation from sophomores and 96 percent increase overall on the Oregon PSAT/NMSQT. 

Susan Castillo, superintendent of public instruction for Oregon’s Department of Education, advocated for AP Potential in a recent newsletter: “Over 20 percent of Oregon students took at least one AP course last year, this is not enough! … More students could benefit from the more rigorous and rewarding course work provided in Advanced Placement® classes. … We owe our students to encourage them to take AP.

“AP Potential is free. …. This is an innovative, invaluable and underutilized tool. I would like to see all schools using this amazing resource. It’s convenient. It can be adapted to your district’s particular needs. And it has proven highly effective at finding underserved students who might not always think of taking advanced course work but who could benefit immensely from that exposure and opportunity.”

Click here to see events and workshops in the Western Region.