AASA, Hobsons Team To Improve Access to Community Colleges
The School Superintendents Association
(AASA) and Hobsons, a provider of student
advising and admissions systems, have teamed up on an initiative that aims to
help school districts and community colleges increase the number of students
attending and graduating from community college.
According to Hobsons, community colleges are having trouble retaining
students because freshmen often need to complete non-credit remedial courses
before moving on to credit courses or they don't have access to advising or
degree planning services.
In an attempt to address these issues, AASA and Hobsons plan to host a
series of working groups that bring together leaders from high schools, school
districts and community colleges. The working groups will discuss the issues of
student access, preparedness, persistence and graduation, and according to
Hobsons, the work "will also be informed by Hobsons' student advising via the
Naviance and Starfish platforms." AASA and Hobsons will use the information
from the working groups to develop a series of best practices and guides that
school districts and community colleges can use to help students make a
successful transition from high school to college and on to graduation.
"It's all about targeting the individual needs of every student in every
school," said Daniel A. Domenech, executive director of AASA, in a prepared
statement. "School districts across the country need to collaborate with
community colleges to help students who may not have the financial resources
available to attend the traditional four-year university, or may not want a
four year degree after graduating high school."
AASA and Hobsons announced the partnership at a Clinton
Global Initiative (CGI) America Meeting and have committed to the project
through a joint CGI America Commitment to Action.
About the Author
Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at [email protected].