Module A with optional add-on Module B
Module A contains three courses with four sessions in each course. An optional course, Module B, can be added to Module A.
Course 1: Building a College-Going Culture for All Students
Designed to help you strengthen your outreach to low-income students and those who would be first in the family to attend college. The four sessions will deepen your understanding of:
- The changing career landscape (and jobs of the future);
- The cultural beliefs of students and families that are sometimes a barrier to postsecondary education;
- How school counselors and college access professionals can work together as a team to better serve students;
- How to advocate to administrators and others for your unique role in helping students plan their next steps after high school;
- How to raise teacher and student expectations that education after high school is an option for all students.
Course 1 Sessions
- Understanding the National Workforce Landscape and 21st Century Careers
- Cultural Competency and Equity
- Understanding, Communicating and Advocating for the Role of the School Counselor in College and Career Planning
- Creating a School-wide, College-going Culture
Course 2: College, Career and Academic Planning
A big-picture course with practical applications, designed to help you guide students as they make important decisions about their future. The course will enable you to:
- Help students form a plan for high school and beyond, based on their careers of interest;
- Analyze date to uncover and address issues of equity in access to college prep opportunities; and
- Gain a more comprehensive understanding of postsecondary options and communicate this information to students and parents so they can make more informed decisions.
Course 2 Sessions
- Supporting Student Career Awareness and Development
- Engaging Students in Career Awareness and Planning
- Using Data to Address Equity and Guide Academic and Career Planning
- Helping Students Make Postsecondary Choices
Course 3: Financial Aid and College Applications
Developed to deepen your financial aid proficiency to help students and parents complete the FAFSA and apply to college and other postsecondary education options. This course teachers you to:
- Communicate and intricacies of financial aid, including terminology, to parents and students;
- Increase the number of FAFSA applications by students;
- Help parents and students understand the total cost of college as well as the variety of financial aid opportunities available to them;
- Collaborate with administrators, teachers and parents to prepare students for college admission tests; and
- Assist students in completing the application process for education opportunities after high school.
Course 3 Sessions
- Guiding Parents and Students through the Complexities of Financial Aid
- Assisting with the Financial Aid Process
- Preparing for College Admissions Tests
- Postsecondary Admissions: The Application Process
Module B, Optional Add-On
College and Career Advising in the Middle Grades
Tailored specifically for school counselors and college access professionals in middle schools. Through this module, you will learn:
- How to act as a change agent to create a "college-going" culture at your school to promote students' awareness of postsecondary options and raise teacher and student expectations
- Tools and strategies to help students connect career aspirations to academic planning, including employment area forecasts and "career clusters" for your state;
- How to use state-level career planning resources in your state;
- How student engagement and motivation increases when planning for future careers; and
- Ways to support students in their transitions from elementary to middle grades to high school.
Module B Sessions
- Developing a College-going Culture in Your School
- Career Planning
- Academic Planning and Transitions
- Engaging Middle Grades Students