University System of Georgia Strategic Plan

Strategic Goal Five:
Maintain affordability so that money is not a barrier to participation in the benefits of higher education.

Strategic Plan in Action

Challenge

Georgia has underrepresented populations completing secondary education who are unaware of financial aid resources and initiatives available to them.

Action

Increase postsecondary admission of Georgia underrepresented populations by implementing Georgia’s College Access Challenge Grant funded by the federal Department of Education.

Baseline Measure & Targets

Activities for Implementation Baseline Measure 2008 Target 2009 Target 2010 Target 2011 Target 2012 Target
Update, enhance, and expand access to GAcollege411.

GAcollege411 Account Creation
1/1/07-12/31/07 – 368,223 accounts created; 3,059,685 site visits.
GAcollege411 1/1/08 – 12/31/08 – 353,245 accounts created; 3,668,510 site visits.

GAcollege411 Applications Submitted
9/2006-8/2007 – 91,906 applications submitted; 9/2007-8/2008 – 129,681 applications submitted.

GAcollege411 High School Transcripts Submitted
1/1/07-12/31/07 – 1,395 transcripts submitted; 1/1/08-12/31/08 – 23,739+ transcripts submitted.

 GAcollege411 enhancements currently in development and to be released in Transitions platform. Beta database scheduled to go live 4/1/09, and production database scheduled to go live 7/1/09. Enhancements will include increasing site readability to a wider audience making it easier to navigate and the translation of key information on the site into Spanish. GAcollege411 will be live on the Transitions platform. High school counselors, admissions staff, and financial aid staff will receive training on the new site.  

Utilization of GAcollege411 increases 20% by 9/10 over 9/08.

Utilization of GAcollege411 for adults increases 10% by 9/10 over 9/08.

Increase in number and percentage of students filing a FAFSA.

  
Establish Early College Grant demonstration program. Baseline:
Number of Early College students eligible for dual enrollment courses (2009) = 425		     720 1140 1560
Implement “Apply to College Week” at high schools serving high percentages of underrepresented students. (Note: Application fee was waived for those going through Apply to College.) Solicited applications from high schools from across the state to participate in Georgia Apply to College Week pilot event Over 850 students from 8 pilot high schools submitted applications for admission through GAcollege411 during the 3–day event held November 2008. During the event, students were able to receive assistance completing their admission applications from college representatives and were able to take advantage of application fee waivers offered by some colleges. GAcollege411 representatives were available at each site to provide financial aid information and to answer questions related to the FAFSA. Planning underway for November 2009 events to be held at 25–50 high schools in Georgia to be selected based on the number and percentage of underrepresented students. Increase the number of Georgia high schools participating in Georgia Apply to College Week. Increase number of seniors, particularly underrepresented students, who apply to college; increase the number of Georgia high school seniors who apply to colleges within Georgia; and encourage high school seniors to apply to college earlier in their senior year.    
Provide professional learning to financial aid administrators and college admissions counselors and high school counselors on usability of GAcollege411 admission and financial aid services.     BOR, TCSG, and GSFC partnering with SREB to develop training course also to be utilized for training on Transitions and also to be incorporated into graduate professional school counseling programs.   Surveys of participating financial aid administrators, school counselors, and other users indicate that 90% are more knowledgeable about college financial aid resources.  

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