IACAC WEBINAR WEDNESDAYIntroducing and Understanding

the Coalition ApplicationApril 13, 2016

Today’s Panelists

Ayaska Fernando – ayaska.fernando@yale.eduCoalition App design teamAssociate Director of Admissions, Yale U, CT

Audrey Smith – asmith@smith.eduCoalition App board memberVice President for Enrolment, Smith College, MA

Tara Dowling – tdowling@rockyhill.orgDirector of College CounselingRocky Hill School, RI

Hamilton Gregg – hsgregg45@gmail.comCollege Advisor, IECA MemberHarrow International School, Beijing China

Moderator: Aaron Andersen, University of British Columbia

An Overview of the Coalition Technology Platform for Students, School Counselors, and CBO Mentors

American UniversityAmherst CollegeBates CollegeBowdoin CollegeBrown UniversityBryn Mawr CollegeCalifornia Institute of TechnologyCarleton CollegeClaremont McKenna CollegeClemson UniversityColby CollegeColgate UniversityCollege of the Holy CrossCollege of William and MaryColorado College

Indiana University-BloomingtonJames Madison UniversityJohns Hopkins UniversityMiami University-OhioMichigan State UniversityMiddlebury CollegeMount Holyoke CollegeNorth Carolina State UniversityNortheastern UniversityNorthwestern UniversityOberlin CollegeOhio State UniversityPenn StatePomona CollegePrinceton University

Coalition Member InstitutionsColumbia UniversityConnecticut CollegeCornell UniversityDartmouth CollegeDavidson CollegeDuke UniversityEmory UniversityFlorida State UniversityFranklin and Marshall CollegeFranklin W. Olin College of EngineeringGeorgia Institute of TechnologyGrinnell CollegeHamilton CollegeHarvard UniversityHaverford CollegeIllinois State University

Purdue UniversityReed CollegeRice UniversityRutgers University-New BrunswickSkidmore CollegeSmith CollegeSt. Olaf CollegeStanford UniversityState University of New York – BinghamtonState University of New York – Buffalo State University of New York – GeneseoSwarthmore CollegeTexas A&M UniversityThe College of New JerseyTufts University

University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of PittsburghUniversity of RochesterUniversity of South CarolinaUniversity of VermontUniversity of VirginiaUniversity of WashingtonVanderbilt UniversityVassar CollegeVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State UniversityWake Forest UniversityWashington University in St. LouisWellesley CollegeWesleyan UniversityWilliams CollegeYale University

Coalition Member Institutions(cont.)

Union CollegeUniversity of ChicagoUniversity of ConnecticutUniversity of FloridaUniversity of GeorgiaUniversity of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignUniversity of Mary WashingtonUniversity of Maryland– College ParkUniversity of MichiganUniversity of Minnesota– Twin CitiesUniversity of MissouriUniversity of New HampshireUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel HillUniversity of Notre Dame

What the Coalition DOES Believe In1. The college admission process needs ongoing innovation and

improvement, and competition is a positive force for change.2. The Coalition can leverage technology to help level the playing field in

college preparation.3. The platform the Coalition is developing will provide a supportive

college exploration and application process that encourages reflection and self-discovery.

4. Early engagement supports under-resourced students during the college preparation process.

5. Our individual efforts to promote access can be significantly enhanced through the efforts of the Coalition and this free tool to schools and community-based organizations.

What the Coalition DOES NOT Believe In

1. We don’t believe we have a corner on access. Many institutions do great work to provide access. Our work is grounded in research about outcomes for students who can be financially supported throughout their college careers.

2. We don’t believe we have all the answers. We are committed to working together to improve the admission process. The visibility and impact of this group of institutions confers a responsibility to act ethically and do our best work to bring about positive change.

3. We don’t believe we will get it all right in the first iteration. We are committed to a process of assessment and continuous improvement.

4. We don’t believe we can make change overnight. It will take time, significant effort, and thoughtful input from stakeholders.

LOCKER COLLABORATIONSPACE

APPLICATION PORTAL

What the Locker IS:

1. A free tool, fully owned and controlled by a student. A private place where students may choose to keep their work as they progress through high school.

2. Access to the Locker and its contents are controlled by the student.

3. A tool to help engage students in the college preparation process at the appropriate time. This will help students develop aspirations, self-awareness, and habits of reflection.

What the Locker IS NOT:1. The Locker and items in it are not visible to universities and colleges,

although a student may elect to upload an item from the locker to a college/university as part of their application.

2. The Locker is not something for universities and colleges to measure demonstrated interest and factor that into admissions decisions.

3. The Locker IS NOT a tool to start the admissions process earlier. The Coalition believes there is an important distinction between the time to prepare for college and the time for application/admissions process.

What Can a Student Put in Their Locker?

Anything that will help students reflect on their experiences during high school, when the time comes to apply to college. Here are a few examples:1. A personal journal2. A list of part-time jobs and summer work held since 9th grade3. A video of last year’s robotics competition4. A few notable photographs from a service project5. Essays and papers that you are most proud of6. A research paper7. Audio recording from a music performance8. A resume—a work in progress throughout high school

STUDENT LOCKER Academic Documents

Listing of Part-Time Jobs and Work Essays

Written WorkExtracurricular Activities

Multi-Media ProjectsVisual Arts / Music

LOCKER COLLABORATION SPACE

Collaborate and share application materials of your choice with school counselors, teachers,

and/or mentors.

What the Collaboration Space IS:

1. A free space for students to invite school counselors and trusted advisors to connect with them and to help level the playing field in college preparation (distinct from a college application).

2. A free space for school counselors and mentors to engage with their students, gauge their progress, provide advice on required courses, and advise on application steps.

3. A small step in the right direction, and one which the Coalition hopes will complement counseling and engagement efforts designed to increase access.

Whom Should a Student Invite to Collaborate?

A student has complete control over whom they collaborate with in the Collaboration Space. A student’s high school guidance

counselor is the ideal choice and counselors from Community Based Organizations (CBOs) would also be good possibilities.

Students should think carefully about whom to consult about their college application materials, selecting knowledgeable mentors

they trust who know them.

High School Counselor PortalThe slides that follow will provide a visualization of the portal that high school counselors will see.

1. The portal will allow a designated/verified counselor from a student’s high school to see every college in the student’s “college list,” whether it is a Coalition school or not.

2. The designated/verified counselor will also be able to see the application status for the student's Coalition Applications, together with other pertinent information.

3. A counselor is able to see things in aggregate, as well as view an individual student record and hone in on it. Thus, a counselor will be able to see when a student adds a college to their list, starts to work on their profile or application to a college, and completes an application.

Submitting High School Materials1. Counselors and teachers will be able to submit sealed credentials

through the Collaboration Space by submitting to the student’s account. Once a transcript or recommendation has been added, the student can upload the transcript or recommendation to every application submitted through the Coalition Platform.

2. If a high school prefers another means of credential submission, counselors will be able to offer detailed instructions via the Collaboration Space so students can request credentials through means preferred by their high school, to complete their applications.

Transcripts and Recommendations in the Coalition Platform work like ‘sealed envelopes’ that are included within the ‘big envelope’ of a Coalition Application. A student can see the ‘sealed envelope’ in their locker and attach it to an application but they are unable to view the contents of that envelope. Any such item submitted by a counselor or teacher will remain completely confidential and inaccessible to the student.

Privacy on Submissions

LOCKER

APPLICATION PORTAL

For each Coalition application, the student selects relevant data from their

locker to upload and submit.

What the Coalition Application IS:

1. A contemporary, mobile-friendly application developed to be intuitive to a 21st-century audience.

2. A reliable alternative application that will stabilize the admissions process.

3. A college application that can be submitted to Coalition member institutions. Additional information about application requirements for individual Coalition member institutions will be found on their websites and can be accessed in the Member School Section on the Coalition website.

What the Coalition Application IS NOT:

1. An application that starts in 9th grade.

2. An application meant to replace any existing applications. Rather, it is an option. Colleges and universities may offer multiple application options, or exclusively utilize the Coalition Application.

How Contents in a Locker might be used for College and University

Applications:The Coalition cannot speak for all member institutions and the variety of ways in which colleges and universities will ask for/make use of the contents of a student’s Locker. However, some initial examples are as follows:• A student applying to Yale might have the chance to replace the second essay with an item from their

locker. The “item” is NOT a highly polished HD video shot and edited by a professional—that will NOT help a student. Rather, this could be a taped interview by an aspiring journalist, or an abstract of an extended essay, or a rough draft of their first college application essay with comments and reflections about the editing process, or a video of a slam poetry contest, or schematics from their FIRST robotics team effort.

• A student applying to Pomona might have to upload a graded assignment that introduces or highlights an aspect of their candidacy instead of an extra essay.

• A student applying to the State University of New York–Buffalo might have an enrolling student populate their enrollment portfolio with items from the Locker, allowing for greater advising from faculty and deans when they arrive on campus.

MyCoalition.org

The Locker and Collaboration Space will open in April 2016.

The Application Portal will open (to high school seniors) in July 2016.

For more information, please visit:

coalitionforcollegeaccess.org

COUNSELOR QUESTIONS about the COALITION

• ACCESS• TECHNOLOGY IMPLEMENTATION• PRIVACY CONCERNS• AUTHENTICITY• PROCESS VS COUNSELING• COMMUNICATION

QUESTIONS & THANK YOU !Ayaska Fernando – ayaska.fernando@yale.edu

Coalition App design teamAssociate Director of Admissions, Yale U, CT

Audrey Smith – asmith@smith.eduCoalition App board memberVice President for Enrolment, Smith College, MA

Tara Dowling – tdowling@rockyhill.orgDirector of College CounselingRocky Hill School, RI

Hamilton Gregg – hsgregg45@gmail.comCollege Advisor, IECA MemberHarrow International School, Beijing China

Moderator: Aaron Andersen, University of British Columbia

IACAC WEBINAR WEDNESDAYIntroducing and Understanding

The Coalition ApplicationApril 13, 2016