A New Economic Landscape: The Future of Access and Success

The sixth meeting of WICHE's College Access Challenge Grant Network took place in Salt Lake City, Utah June 8-9, 2011. CACG project leaders from Alaska, Idaho, Nevada, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming met to discuss their college access work in the context of continued economic uncertainty. Participants shared new developments and strategies for evaluating peer mentoring efforts, discussed ongoing challenges and strategies for success in developing college-going cultures among low-income students, and heard about new efforts to share data across state lines. While the future of the College Access Challenge Grant program may be uncertain due to ongoing federal budget debates, project directors are continuing to emphasize development of sustainable programs to help low-income students enter and succeed in postsecondary education.

Click here to view the full meeting agenda.

PRESENTATIONS

• Session: Creating a College Going Culture: What Does Success Look Like?

Speaker: Gail Kaufman, director, University of California, Berkeley Center for Educational Partnerships

• Session: New Tools and New Directions in Peer Mentoring

Speaker: Lora Jorgensen, director of outreach and early awareness, Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education

• Session: What’s Coming Next: The Federal Update

Speaker: Greg Darnieder, senior advisor to the secretary on the college access initiative, US Department of Education (via teleconference)

• Session: Borders Don’t Stop People, Why Should They Stop Data?

Speaker: Brian Prescott, director of policy research, Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education

• Session: State Budget Outlooks: Is There a Light at the End of the Tunnel?

Speaker: Dennis Jones, president, National Center for Higher Education Management Systems

• Session: Common Core State Standards: Ready or Not Here They Come

Speaker: Sharmila Basu Conger, senior policy analyst, State Higher Education Executive Officers