Higher Education Access for America’s Vulnerable Students - This PowerPoint, presented at the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) 2012 National Conference, identifies obstacles to postsecondary participation, particularly among disadvantaged students. The presentation notes current state approaches to providing college counseling, highlights programs in Oregon and Colorado that have improved college participation for traditionally underserved youth, and points to other obstacles to postsecondary participation states are increasingly addressing. (Omari Scott Simmons, Wake Forest University, and Jennifer Dounay Zinth, ECS, October 2012)....

From the ECS State Policy Database: Postsecondary Participation--Access - This policy database—updated weekly—is made possible by your state's fiscal support of the Education Commission of the States....

2012 State of the State Addresses: Governors' Top Education Issues PDF - This analysis highlights the education issues prioritized by governors and the mayor of Washington, D.C. in their 2012 state of the state addresses. The state leaders explained that increasing the quality and availability of education, from preschool through postsecondary, was essential to recovering from the recession, spurring economic growth, remaining competitive, and to the health and well-being of each state's citizens. Top issues include Finance (K-12 & Postsecondary), Teaching Quality, Postsecondary Affordability/Access, School Choice, Workforce Development, Early Learning (P-3), and Reading and Literacy....

Strategies to Empower Low-Income and Minority Students in Gaining Admission to and Paying for College PDF - This policy brief identifies barriers created by federal, state and local policies that pose a particular challenge for aspiring first-generation college students in the college and financial aid application process, and provides suggestions for how state-level policy might address each barrier. A final section on "other" barriers to college entry seeks to alert policymakers to emerging issues for which adequate institutional, state and federal policy responses are needed. (Jennifer Dounay, Education Commission of the States, November 2008)...

Involving Families in High School and College Expectations MS Word PDF - While the vast majority of today's high school students – and their parents – anticipate they will attend college, far too many students lack knowledge about the essential steps that must be taken to make the high school to college transition. This ECS Policy Brief provides a synthesis of the research on the college aspirations of many students and their parents today, as well as the documented lack of information far too many families possess on the necessary steps to make the transition from high school to postsecondary. The brief identifies current state policies that address each of the steps necessary to negotiate the bridge from high school to college, and highlights a Texas policy aimed at annually evaluating the accessibility and affordability of public postsecondary institutions in the state. (Jennifer Dounay, Education Commission of the States, August 2006)...

New Approaches to Improving College Access, Persistence, and Success: Three Exemplary Postsecondary Opportunity Programs - This report focuses on three initiatives—in Illinois, Iowa and Michigan—aimed at improving postsecondary access and degree attainment through efforts at the institutional, state and local community levels respectively. (Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education and Midwestern Higher Education Compact, January 2010)...

Measuring Up: A Midwestern Perspective on the National Report Card--2002 to 2008 - This report enables Midwestern states to make comparisons regionally and nationally in the following areas: preparation for college, participation, affordability, completion and benefits. The report is created to provide policymakers and the public with non-partisan information about state progress in higher education. (Educational Policy Institute, October 2009)...

Higher Education in Michigan: Overcoming Challenges to Expand Access - This study focuses on three geographically diverse areas of Michigan: a suburban county, a large city, and six rural counties in the northeastern Lower Peninsula. Some consistent patterns were found: (1)The state's residents have found it increasingly difficult to succeed with a college degree; (2) It is extremely important to expand access to postsecondary education for the state's economic future; (3) In all three areas examined, barriers make it difficult for low-income and minority residents to earn a college degree. Recommendations include addressing college access at the state level; establish better and new relationships between two- and four-year institutions; develop better transportation systems; and expand healthcare and medical training to position Michigan as a leader in the industry. (Alisa Cunningham, Wendy Erisman and Shannon Loney, Institute for Higher Education Policy, March 2008)...

The Wisconsin Covenant - Wisconsin Governor Doyle recently proposed the Wisconsin Covenant to make college more accessible to low-income residents. This policy brief explains why this is an important goal and how the proposal should be designed to best achieve its objectives -- and at a reasonable cost. The authors offer three guiding principles for designing the Covenant to address the current system's problems and discuss specific strategies to increase the success of the policy. (Sara Goldrick-Rab and Douglas Harris, The Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education, May 2007)...

Adding It Up: A State and National Imperative - This report - comprised of key indicators and projections related to postsecondary attainment - is designed to help institutional, system and state leaders advance a conversation about the urgent need to increase college access and success for all students. The profiles show that while states vary considerably in their current and expected performance in producing a college-educated population, all states must strengthen their postsecondary pipelines to be internationally competitive, meet emerging workforce needs and promote social mobility and equity of opportunity. (The National Center for Higher Education Management Systems and Jobs for the Future for Making Opportunity Affordable, 2007)...