A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Objective 3.1. Secondary school students get the information, skills, and support they need to prepare successfully for postsecondary education.

Key strategies for FY 1999

• National campaign for middle-school students.
  • A new $15 million Early Awareness Information program would develop a series of media products, including videos, a website, and publications, to inform middle and high school students and their families, as well as the general public, about student aid opportunities, the steps that need to be taken to attend college, and the availability of student aid. A major product will be a toolkit for middle schools and colleges containing reference information about postsecondary education costs, benefits, and preparation. In addition, this program would encourage adult learners to take advantage of the new tax credits for postsecondary education and go back to school to learn new skills.

  • Conduct a survey to measure current levels of student awareness of the academic requirements for college, college costs and student aid. And to inform the national middle school campaign

• Support services to help students prepare for postsecondary education.
  • The $583 million request for TRIO would increase support for the Upward Bound and Talent Search programs, which identify disadvantaged middle school and high school students and provide academic and career counseling, information and assistance on postsecondary admission and financial aid, and tutoring services. The 1999 budget request of $583 million for TRIO would provide services to almost 389,000 Upward Bound and Talent Search students.
  • As proposed in the FY 99 budget, the new $140 million High Hopes program would bring colleges, middle and junior high schools, businesses, and community organizations together to give whole grade levels of children in high poverty schools information on the benefits of college, academic requirements, and financial aid opportunities, as well as mentoring and tutoring needed to help keep students on track toward college.
  • The budget includes $125 million for the School-to-Work Opportunities program, which helps states implement systems connecting secondary school classrooms to the world of work and preparing students for a wide range of postsecondary education opportunities.

• A student- and family-focused "system" to support postsecondary education using computer and information technologies.
  • Determine the legal and technical requirements of using the electronic signature to simplify the process of electronically applying for student financial aid through the World Wide Web.
  • Coordinate with partners in the community, including schools, lenders, and guarantee agencies, to establish industry standards for data exchanges needed to operate the system.

• Vocational education support for technical skill training.
  • The Department's budget request for $1.137 billion for Vocational Education State Grants and Tech- Prep Education will support state and local efforts to increase students' technical skills, integrate academic and vocational education, link secondary and postsecondary education, relate classroom learning to experiences outside the classroom in the workplace, and develop models of high school reform.

Coordination

• Public awareness campaigns. Continue to obtain input and support from numerous public and private organizations, such as the National Middle School Association, the College Board, and Boy Scouts of America (Learning for Life), in designing and implementing the Early Awareness Information program, ED-NSF national mathematics public engagement campaign, and High Hopes program. In addition, work to ensure that the three programs are well-coordinated and mutually reinforcing.

• Dissemination of research. Coordinate the TRIO clearinghouse with other ERIC clearinghouses to better disseminate research on the preparation of disadvantaged youth for postsecondary education.

Programs supporting this objective

Selected performance indicators and charts

Postsecondary education enrollment rates will increase each year for all students while the enrollment gap between low- and high-income and minority and non-minority high school graduates will decrease each year. (Goal 3, indicator 1)

Indicator background and context. In 1996, 49.1 percent of low-income high school graduates, aged 18-19, were enrolled in college, compared to 79.3 percent of high-income students. (Low-income students are from families in the bottom 20 percent of all family incomes. High-income families are in the top 20 percent.)

Over the period of 1975 through 1996, the postsecondary education enrollment rates of both low- and high-income students have tended to increase. However, despite some fluctuations, the gap in enrollment rates between these groups has remained fairly stable over this period. It is expected that the Early Awareness Information program, High Hopes College-School Partnerships program, TRIO programs, and reform efforts at the elementary and secondary school level will increase student interest in, and preparation for, postsecondary education, thereby leading to continued increases in postsecondary enrollment rates, particularly for low-income students.

Data source. U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, October Current Population Surveys.

By October 2001 there will be a single point of contact that allows students to get information on federal student aid, apply for aid, and have their eligibility for aid determined within four days of electronic application, cutting in half the current processing time. (Requires approval of electronic signature.) (Goal 3, indicator 4)

Indicator background and context. The current processing time for electronic applications for federal student financial aid is eight days. A streamlined mechanism for electronically applying for student financial aid through the world wide web will give prospective students and their families a single electronic point of contact for all federal student aid programs, and eventually, with the cooperation of the postsecondary education community, this system will respond to all their financial aid questions, including estimates of likely federal aid amounts and costs associated with attending specific schools. Note that a reduction in the processing time for electronic applications from eight to four days can only be achieved with approval of the electronic signature.

Data source. Program data.

Verification/validation of performance measures: Data on performance indicators will be obtained through independent surveys conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics and the Census Bureau which are subject to standards regarding statistical precision and response rates. An independent customer survey is also planned to provide an external check on program reported data on student awareness, usage, and satisfaction.

-###-

[Objective 2.4]

[Objective 3.2]