College Board’s ‘Big Future’: Helping low-income kids apply to college

19 Apr

In 3rd world America: The economy affects the society of the future, moi said:

One of the major contributors to poverty in third world nations is limited access to education opportunities. Without continued sustained investment in education in this country, we are the next third world country. All over the country plans are being floated to cut back the school year or eliminate programs which help the most disadvantaged. Alexander Eichler reports in the Huffington Post article, Middle-Class Jobs Disappearing As Workforce Shifts To High-Skill, Low-Skill: Study:

America is increasingly becoming a place of high- and low-skill jobs, with less room available for a middle class.

A new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows that over the past 30 years, the U.S. workforce has shifted toward high-paying jobs that require a great deal of education — jobs in the legal, engineering or technology industries, for example — and toward low-paying jobs that require little schooling, like food preparation, maintenance and personal care.

What haven’t fared so well are the industries in the middle, like sales, teaching, construction, repair, entertainment, transportation and business — the ones where a majority of Americans end up working.

In 1980, these middle-level jobs accounted for 75 percent of the workforce. By 2009, that number had fallen to 68 percent. In the same span of time, low- and high-skill jobs had each grown as a percentage of the workforce.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/21/middle-class-jobs_n_1105502.html?ref=email_share

So what future have the Goldman Sucks, cash sluts, and credit crunch weasels along with we don’t care, we don’t have to Washington Georgetown and Chevy Chase set – you know, the the “masters of the universe” left those on a race to get through college? Lila Shapiro has the excellent post, Trading Down: Laid-Off Americans Taking Pay Cuts and Increasingly Kissing Their Old Lives Goodbye at Huffington Post:

This government, both parties, has failed to promote the kind of economic development AND policy which creates liveable wage jobs. That is why Mc Donalds is popular for more than its dollar menu. They are hiring people.

https://drwilda.wordpress.com/2011/11/22/3rd-world-america-the-economy-affects-the-society-of-the-future/

The College Board announce the “Big Future” program:

College Board Introduces BigFuture.org, a Free Comprehensive College Planning Resource

The Education Conservancy, Educators and Students Collaborated in Effort to Help Overcome Obstacles to College

NEW YORK, April 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — On April 10, the College Board introduced BigFuture, its new free comprehensive college planning Web resource, at a panel discussion in Washington, D.C. The site was created with the Education Conservancy and in consultation with students and educators to help make the college planning process simpler and more accessible. At the “Big Future™: Narrowing the Gap Between College Aspiration and Enrollment” panel,education, government and not-for-profit thought leaders discussed ways to help students, especially those from low-income backgrounds or who are the first in their families to aspire to college,overcome obstacles to higher education.

BigFuture is a major investment by the College Board to help improve the college planning process for students and families, and to provide more equal access to expert guidance,” said Gaston Caperton, president of the College Board. “Through our advocacy work to increase college completion rates in the United States, we have identified providing better college information and planning services to all students, with a special focus on low-income students, as one of 10 key recommendations for success. We’re excited about this collaboration with the Education Conservancy because it combines trusted guidance and reliable data with innovative and engaging technology.”

Lloyd Thacker, director of the Education Conservancy, moderated the panel, which included Zakiya Smith, senior advisor for education at the White House Domestic Policy Council; Daniel Domenech, executive director of the American Association of School Administrators; Brian Sponsler, associate director of research and evaluation for the Institute for Higher Education Policy; Laura Schifter, senior education and disability advisor on the Committee on Education and the Workforce; Rep. George Miller (D-CA); and Pat Martin, assistant vice president of the College Board’s National Office of School Counselor Advocacy. The event was hosted by the College Board Advocacy & Policy Center.

The success of the BigFuture project reflects the special value collaboration can deliver to improving education,” said Thacker. “At its best, college admission is an interactive, educational process. Students learn about college; colleges learn about students; successful matches are made; college education in America becomes a reality for all who aspire to it. This site represents a significant step forward in establishing an admission system that exemplifies the best that education has to offer.”

BigFuture.org is a new Web experience that leverages new technologies to engage students online in the way they want to be engaged. This new resource combines guidance, tools and information to make college planning easier to navigate and help students overcome barriers that make college seem out of reach. BigFuture features interactive tools and content, including real student video stories and personalized action plans.

BigFuture replaces the College Board’s previous college planning website, which was a trusted resource and one of the most highly trafficked college planning websites available, used by more than six million students and parents each month. “This launch represents a new phase in the College Board’s service to students, building on more than 100 years of work aimed at expanding access to higher education,” Caperton said.

About the College Board
The College Board is a mission-driven not-for-profit organization that connects students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the College Board was created to expand access to higher education. Today, the membership association is made up of over 6,000 of the world’s leading educational institutions and is dedicated to promoting excellence and equity in education. Each year, the College Board helps more than seven million students prepare for a successful transition to college through programs and services in college readiness and college success — including the SAT® and the Advanced Placement Program®. The organization also serves the education community through research and advocacy on behalf of students, educators and schools. For further information, visit www.collegeboard.org.

About the Education Conservancy
The Education Conservancy (EC) is a not-for-profit organization committed to improving college admission in the public interest. Established in 2003, the EC directs national attention to the harmful effects of college rankings and other commercial influences in college admission, highlights the educational importance of college admission, orchestrates collaboration among colleges to serve the needs of students, and develops college planning resources for students, families and counselors. The EC’s work has been made possible through the generous support of philanthropic organizations and hundreds of schools, colleges and individuals. For more information, visit www.educationconservancy.org.

###

Contact:
College Board Communications Department
212-713-8052
communications@collegeboard.org

See, Admissions 101: Will new tool help low-income students tackle admissions?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/class-struggle/post/admissions-101-will-new-tool-help-low-income-students-tackle-admissions/2012/04/18/gIQAVGl8QT_blog.html

Education Week had this take on “Big Future” in the article, College Board Launches New Web Resource for Students by Caralee Adams:

The material was developed in collaboration with an advisory group of educators and Education Conservancy, a nonprofit based in Portland, Ore., focused on improving the admissions process.

This idea was to create an interactive, user-friendly resource in response to concerns that the college-admissions process is becoming increasingly complex and access to expert counseling is unequal. “All students deserve access to good guidance information and top-notch online information,” says Ben-Yoseph. “The goal to make the college process more accessible, simple, and easier to navigate.”

Students can get to much of the information on BigFuture without signing up, but to create a plan or save your work, users do need to create an account. Those with College Board accounts can use their existing user names and passwords. (College Board’s privacy policy states that it does not sell student names or their related information, except through the optional Student Search Service program.)

Rather than being static and listing 10 things to do each year in high school, BigFuture starts the process by asking the user some questions and tailoring the action to the individual’s interests.

When searching for colleges that match a student’s interest on BigFuture, the user can sort by filters such as location, majors, sports, diversity, and cost and give each a weight of importance on a sliding scale. College-profile information of nearly 4,000 institutions is collected by the College Board in its Annual Survey of Colleges. Note: The price includes tuition and fees, but not room and board.

Information throughout the site is provided in nugget-sized tips and one-minute videos with student stories such as how they decided about going to school in a city, what role extracurricular activities played in deciding a major, and putting together a financial-aid plan for college. There are also videos from experts addressing topics of college planning.

College Board envisions the audience for BigFuture to be as young as 8th graders. The content can be applicable for students of any age interested in higher education, said Ben-Yoseph. The hope is that the tool will be engaging enough that it is used across a student’s entire high school career and by school guidance counselors.

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/college_bound/2012/03/college_board_launches_new_web_resource_for_students.html

The best way to eliminate poverty is job creation, job growth, and job retention. The Asian Development Bank has the best concise synopsis of the link between Education and Poverty For a good article about education and poverty which has a good bibliography, go to Poverty and Education, Overview  There will not be a good quality of life for most citizens without a strong education system. One of the major contributors to poverty in third world nations is limited access to education opportunities. Without continued sustained investment in education, we are the next third world country.

Related:

Choosing the right college for you https://drwilda.wordpress.com/2012/04/15/choosing-the-right-college-for-you/

Producing employable liberal arts grads https://drwilda.wordpress.com/2012/04/01/producing-employable-liberal-arts-grads/

Remedial education in college https://drwilda.wordpress.com/2012/03/04/remedial-education-in-college/

Why go to college? https://drwilda.wordpress.com/2011/11/28/why-go-to-college/

Dr. Wilda says this about that ©

5 Responses to “College Board’s ‘Big Future’: Helping low-income kids apply to college”

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

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    […] One of the major contributors to poverty in third world nations is limited access to education opportunities. Without continued sustained investment in education in this country, we are the next third world country. All over the country plans are being floated to cut back the school year or eliminate programs which help the most disadvantaged….The best way to eliminate poverty is job creation, job growth, and job retention. The Asian Development Bank has the best concise synopsis of the link between Education and Poverty For a good article about education and poverty which has a good bibliography, go to Poverty and Education, Overview  There will not be a good quality of life for most citizens without a strong education system. One of the major contributors to poverty in third world nations is limited access to education opportunities. Without continued sustained investment in education, we are the next third world country. https://drwilda.com/2012/04/19/college-boards-big-future-helping-low-income-kids-apply-to-college/ […]

  5. The digital divide affects the college application process « drwilda - December 8, 2012

    […] The best way to eliminate poverty is job creation, job growth, and job retention. The Asian Development Bank has the best concise synopsis of the link between Education and Poverty For a good article about education and poverty which has a good bibliography, go to Poverty and Education, Overview  There will not be a good quality of life for most citizens without a strong education system. One of the major contributors to poverty in third world nations is limited access to education opportunities. Without continued sustained investment in education, we are the next third world country. https://drwilda.com/2012/04/19/college-boards-big-future-helping-low-income-kids-apply-to-college/ […]

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