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Greetings,
Recently, along with the passing of the Higher Education Reconciliation Act, the government issued new guidelines about the kinds of outreach services that guarantors need to provide. The College Access Initiative says that guarantors "must promote access to postsecondary education for students by providing information on college planning, career preparation, and paying for college." I'm happy to say that at Great Lakes, we're already doing this and more.
One way we're reaching out to students is through our Student Success Guides, engaging publications designed to encourage higher education, increase access to college and financial aid, and build students' financial literacy. Most importantly, these guides are written directly for the audience that they target – students. We offer these guides to high schools and postsecondary schools totally free, and also make them available to students and parents for free on our website, mygreatlakes.org. When they visit our website, students also can read our collection of online articles, covering topics from thinking about college, to understanding financial aid, to using credit responsibly.
Another way that we help students is by helping those entrusted to guide them through the college application process. Our Counselor's Toolkit is a collection of comprehensive yet easy-touse materials that high school guidance counselors and college access practitioners can use to help students and their families achieve their goals for higher education. The toolkit helps counselors answer students' key questions, like why they should consider college, where they can get money to pay for it, and how they can apply for financial aid.
The College Access Initiative also asks guarantors to put a special emphasis on reaching out to students who are underrepresented in postsecondary education, notably first-generation and lowincome students. We're working towards increasing these students' access through collaborating with other organizations, such as the National College Access Network, the Council for Opportunity in Education, and a number of state and local organizations. We recognize that it takes teamwork to have the biggest impact on these students.
As we continue in our efforts to open the doors of education to every student, we plan to develop even more resources and partnerships. To increase access to higher education, we can never stop working. But with each move we make, the doors creak open a little more.
Until next time, have a great month!
La Toya Sykes, Director
Outreach and Access Awareness
Click a link below to view past Opening Doors articles.
