NACAC's 69th National Conference
September 19-21, 2013
Wednesday, September 18 – Thursday, September 19, 2013
Target Audience: Secondary
Level: Advanced (College Counseling Department Chairs, Directors of Guidance, Secondary School Head Counselors, Aspiring Directors)
With an increased emphasis on student outcomes and the creation of new accountability measures, college counseling programs must be able to demonstrate, with the use of data, that they are accomplishing their goals and serving all students and families effectively.
To do this, college counseling programs must be designed to be student centered and equity based with a focus on the future. It must be nimble enough to shift according to changes in the postsecondary landscape and comprehensive enough to accommodate shifts in demographics and a variety of student needs.
Directing a Dynamic College Counseling Program is an intense professional development workshop offering college counseling department chairs, directors of guidance, secondary school head counselors, and aspiring directors the essential tools to build, grow and enhance a college counseling department.
Sessions include*:
Defining and Aligning Your Mission
A dynamic college counseling program starts with its mission and goals. This session will explore the need for a clearly articulated mission and discuss how to ensure that it is aligned with the school’s mission or vision statement.
Examining Your College Going Culture
Taking your college counseling program to the next level requires ongoing critical and comprehensive assessment of your practices. This session offers strategies to improve those practices through the use of data and resources as well as the strengthening of relationships throughout your community.
Building and Managing a College Counseling Program
This session will examine the following key areas—Personnel Issues (hiring and developing an all-star team of counselors), Budgetary Considerations (doing more with the same or less), and Communications (internal and external). Participants will learn a variety of strategies that will create the strong and nimble foundation that is needed to support a dynamic program.
Today’s and Tomorrow’s Industry Challenges
Dynamic college counseling programs are nimble and able to change with the shifting college admission landscape, which means having your finger on the pulse of what is happening and being able to anticipate what lies ahead. This session will allow attendees to examine the critical issues impacting the profession (e.g., electronic submission of forms, ethical and privacy issues, shrinking financial aid monies and the impact of that squeeze on college access and choice, the intensifying push for early applications from colleges, as well as the increasing call for students who can think across disciplines) and discuss ways in which you can ensure that your program is positioned for the future.
College Admission Trends (A panel of Deans and Directors of Admission)
During this moderated session, experienced Deans and Directors of Admission share and discuss current trends and hot button issues in the college admission profession. This session will provide an in-depth look at the changing college admission landscape and its overall affect on institutional enrollment. Industry leaders identify geographic and regional trends affecting the college admission process and make suggestions on how college counselors can best address them and support the students and families they serve.
Data Analysis Working Session
During this session counselors will examine their school's demographics, data, test-taking patterns, and identify an area for improvement for the coming year. With the help of the sessions’ leaders, attendees will develop an “Action Plan” for their school in order to focus on the identified area for improvement, whether it is graduation rates, the number of ACT/SAT takers, increasing numbers of students in Advanced Placement courses, etc. The goal of the session is to create a useful plan that will be implemented during the coming school year.
Leadership Institute
With tight budgets and changing priorities, it is more important than ever for directors of college counseling programs to be leaders in their building and to help administration and colleagues understand their role in achieving the school’s mission. This session will take an intricate look at leadership from a college counseling perspective; discuss its definition, models of leadership and how it is enacted.
*subject to change
Schedule:
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
8:30 a.m. – 5:15 p.m. (7:30 a.m. breakfast, breaks and lunch included)
Thursday, September 19, 2013
8:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (7:30 a.m. breakfast and break included)
Registration for the 2013 Directing is now open! Visit 2013 National Conference Registration. - If you plan to attend Directing AND the 2013 National Conference, select your main registration type (i.e., college/university, organization, independent counselor), then select Directing on the preconference workshops page.
- If you plan to attend Directing exclusively (with no National Conference activities included), select Preconference ONLY as your main registration type, then Directing on the preconference workshops page.
Registration Rates for the 2013 Directing Workshop:
| Member*/Nonmember |
Member*/Nonmember |
Member*/Nonmember |
| $400/$450 |
$435/$485 |
$470/$520 |