With funding from Lumina Foundation, NACAC will convene higher education leaders to act on the insights from the “Toward a More Equitable Future for Postsecondary Access” report.
Arlington, VA (June 21, 2022) – The National Association for College Admission Counseling will convene a facilitated symposium to operationalize the framework developed within the report, “Toward a More Equitable Future for Postsecondary Access.” The report sought to reimagine college admission and financial aid through an equity lens.
Released in January 2022 by the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) and the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), the report was developed with funding from Lumina Foundation. The foundation is also supporting the convening, which will be held in person in February 2023.
This symposium will address a need identified in the report: higher education leaders need time dedicated to taking a broad view of efforts to improve equity and ensure alignment between institutional equity goals and admission policies and practices.
NACAC will bring together a diverse group of stakeholders, with a primary focus on teams of institutional leaders from colleges and universities, to develop a full evaluation framework institutions can implement to examine and change practices that create barriers to entry to postsecondary education for traditional-aged and adult students of color, particularly Black students.
“We’re moving from reflection to action in this work with higher education leaders,” said Angel B. Pérez, NACAC CEO. “The teams at the symposium will have expert guidance as they develop a framework to challenge and change their own admissions policies and practices with a focus on equity.”
Based on the recommendations from the report, leaders at the convening will develop an actionable framework to address:
- The application process
- Factors used in making admission decisions
- The composition of the admission office
- Institutional selectivity
The framework developed at the symposium will be tested by stakeholders, resulting in a final evaluation framework against which institutions can evaluate and assess the equity implications of admission policies and practices.
NACAC will also conduct a national poll to assess student awareness and perceptions of admission policies and practices, particularly among students historically excluded from postsecondary education. The purpose of this research is to inform admission leaders of how their processes are perceived by students.