Leading the Way - New York State Association for College Admission Counseling

Since the summer of 2000, Camp College has improved the lives of young college bound students from underrepresented populations throughout New York State. Camp College’s aim is to prepare our students for a higher education.  Many of our students will be the first in their family to attend college and this weekend program is often their first time away from home.  Our final camp for the summer will be conducted on the following campus:

August 1st- 3rd, 2008 SUNY Potsdam

We are looking for donations of T-shirts, books, pens, and other college related paraphernalia.  All donations are shared directly with Camp College participants and are great advertisements for every college and/or program. Any donation would be greatly appreciated.  Camp College is run entirely by volunteers and support from NYSACAC, and your donations.

Special donation needed:  Name badges with Velcro or zipper pocket (Neck wallets)

Please mail donations to the Camp College site coordinators at the addresses below:

Jennifer L. Frost, Admissions Counselor
SUNY Potsdam
“Camp College Donations”
Office of Admissions
44 Pierrepont Avenue
Potsdam, NY 13676

For more information on Camp College, please visit:

http://www.nysacac.org/index.php/programs_events/camp_college/

Please feel free to e-mail or call us with any questions you may have.  We appreciate your support in advance!

Christopher Milton Karen Staller
Assistant Director of Recruitment School Counselor
Brooklyn College (CUNY) Lawrence High School
cmilton@brooklyn.cuny.edu kstaller@aol.com
(718) 731-1260 (516) 295-8039

NYSACAC Camp College Co-Directors

At the annual conference at Manhattanville the Development Committee announced an exciting new initiative called PITCHED (Promoting Ideas to Cultivate Higher Education Donations). This new initiative was unanimously supported by the NYSACAC Executive Board and has inspired members across the state of New York to develop fund-raising ideas in support of the PITCHED initiative.

Marist College is the first institution to report a successful event they dubbed “dress-down days.” The Marist admission team allotted 15 days of which they were allowed to dress-down for $4 per day, $15 per week, or $30 for the entire time. At end of the 15th day the Marist admission team raised $200. The entire proceeds of this fund-raising event will support the NYSACAC Fund for the 21st Century and endowment.

Congratulations to the Marist team! We look forward to reporting more of these stories in the future.

To learn more about the PITCHED Initiative, please click HERE.

Attention, Attention!!!!  Do you know a student in the 11th or 12th grade? Please inform them of the great summer opportunity sponsored by NYSACAC - Camp College 2008.  Camp College is a three day summer camp geared towards helping students understand and navigate the college admissions process.  The aim of the camp is to include students from all over NYS, therefore each chaperone can accompany up to ten students.  Excluding transportation the camp is absolutely FREE (all you have to do is show up)!  If you are interested in nominating a student or serving as a mentor, please utilize the links below to access the application.


For more information, please contact NYSACAC Camp College Co-Directors, Christopher Milton or Karen Staller.

Christopher Milton
Assistant Director of Recruitment
Brooklyn College
2900 Bedford Avenue
1602 James Hall
Brooklyn, NY 11210
(718) 951-4366
Cmilton@broolyn.cuny.edu

Karen Staller
School Counselor
Lawrence High School
Guidance Department
2 Reilly Road
Cedarhurst, NY 11516
T: 516-295-8030
kstaller@lawrence.k12.ny.us

Click below for the appropriate applications:

Student Application

Mentor Application
(Mentor spots at Marist are almost at capacity, mentors are still needed at SUNY Potsdam)

Since the summer of 2000, Camp College has improved the lives of young college bound students from underrepresented populations throughout New York State. Camp College’s aim is to prepare our students for a higher education.  Many of our students will be the first in their family to attend college and this weekend program is often their first time away from home.  This year’s programs will be conducted on the following campuses:

July 11-13th, 2008 Marist College

August 1st-3rd, 2008 SUNY Potsdam

We are looking for donations of T-shirts, books, pens, and other college related paraphernalia.  All donations are shared directly with Camp College participants and are great advertisements for every college and/or program. Any donation would be greatly appreciated.  Camp College is run entirely by volunteers and support from NYSACAC, and your donations.

Please mail donations to the Camp College site coordinators at the addresses below:

Luis Santiago
Director of On-Campus Visits and Events
Marist College
“Camp College Donations”
3399 North Road
Poughkeepsie, New York 12601-1315

Jennifer L. Frost, Admissions Counselor
SUNY Potsdam
“Camp College Donations”
Office of Admissions
44 Pierrepont Avenue
Potsdam, NY 13676

For more information on Camp College, please visit:

http://www.nysacac.org/index.php/programs_events/camp_college/

We appreciate your support in advance!

Karen Staller
Co-Director, NYSACAC Camp College
School Counselor
Lawrence High School
2 Reilly Road
Cedarhurst, NY 11516
Tel: 516-295-8030
Fax: 516-295-8078

And

Christopher Milton
Co-Director, NYSACAC Camp College
Assistant Director of Recruitment
Brooklyn College
2900 Bedford Avenue
1602 James Hall
Brooklyn, NY 11210
(718) 951-4366 office
(718) 951-4506 fax

2008 Summer Institute at Skidmore College

Greetings Admissions Counselors and School Counselors!

Registration is now open for 2008 Summer Institute at Skidmore College!  Each year, Summer Institute brings together the professional resources of seasoned college admissions and high school counselors to mentor and guide individuals who are relatively new to each field.  By working together, both groups develop a strong understanding of the college admission process while simultaneously networking with other counseling professionals.  Workshops led by dynamic mentors focus on how all counselors can work with individual student needs, writing strong letters of recommendation, the importance of profiles and transcripts, visiting and interviewing, how colleges select students and developing strong relationships between school counselors and visiting admissions counselors.  The Summer Institute has annually been a rewarding and exciting professional development experience for all participants!

We look forward to seeing many new faces this year!

Online registration will be open soon, however if you wish to register via mail, please use the link below and download the form:

http://nysacac.org/index.php/programs_events/summer_institute/

The Council Grant Award program was created to provide financial support to
individuals or state and regional affiliates who assist students in the
high school to college transition for the purpose of professional
development and/or to finance innovative programs that support the college
admission profession or process.

These grants are intended to provide
assistance to those who might otherwise be unable to participate in
professional development opportunities or implement a new program.

The two types of grants are:

Professional Development Grants:

Provide financial support for individuals to attend NACAC and
ACAC professional development programs who might otherwise be
unable to attend.

Special Project Grants:

Provide support for innovative projects that serve our
profession or our students. May be awarded to an individual or a state
affiliate.

For more information on these grants, see the link below or call Riana
Ardis at 518-472-1977.

http://www.nacacnet.org/MemberPortal/AboutNACAC/Governance/PresCouncil/SR_PresCoun_Grants.htm

THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
OF NYSACAC

REGRETS TO ANNOUNCE THE PASSING OF

Joan Zinner

Mother of Lisa Sohmer
Past President of NYSACAC

SERVICES
Friday, April 25th, 11:15 A.M.
The Riverside
76th Street and Amsterdam Avenue

SHIVA WILL BE OBSERVED
Sunday, April 27th, between 2 and 7 P.M.
Monday, April 28th, between 4 and 9 P.M.
and
Tuesday, April 29th, between 4 and 9 P.M.

at 1735 York Avenue @ E90th Street

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to:
The Garden School
(http://www.gardenschool.org)
and
NYSACAC
(http://www.nysacac.org)

Joan was an active and beloved member of The Garden School community, serving as Upper Division Head, and the New York State Association for College Admission Counseling, where she served as President from 1992-1993. In 2000, Joan received the NYSACAC President’s Award, which is presented to an individual who, over a period of years, has performed outstanding service to NYSACAC, to our profession, and to the community. Joan will truly be missed.

Dear Fellow NYSACAC Member:

On behalf of the NYSACAC Executive Board and this year’s Nominating Committee, I am very pleased to present to you the slate of candidates for the 2008-2009 Executive Board.  I am especially excited with this well-qualified group of people who have agreed to volunteer their time, if elected, to serve our organization.  Profiles of each candidate on the ballot appear on the NYSACAC website. Their experience and statements demonstrate professionalism and enthusiasm, and underscore the quality of their candidacies for NYSACAC office.

Your opportunity to exercise your vote is vitally important to the current strength and future success of both NYSACAC and NACAC.  This year, we are pleased to select a President-Elect from the counseling/high school membership. If you have dual membership with both NACAC and NYSACAC, you are eligible to vote for all positions:  President-Elect; Vice President for Finance-Elect; Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Access; and three college and three counseling/high school Delegates.  If you are a member of NYSACAC only, you are eligible to vote for just the chief leadership roles and not the delegates.  According to the by-laws of both Associations, only members of both organizations can elect delegates to the NACAC National Assembly.  The ballot, which is enclosed with this letter, has two sections.  Please be sure you are completing the correct section/s.

I ask your cooperation in completing the NYSACAC Executive Board Ballot by Thursday, May 15, 2008.  The documents should be faxed to me at (845) 855-3816.  The results of the election will be announced at the NYSACAC Annual Conference at Manhattanville College in June.  Additional information about the Conference can be found here.

Thank you for your time in considering your colleagues. Your participation in this process is very important.  NYSACAC is the largest single state Association in NACAC because of your dedication to our profession. Your vote is your voice in the process that helps us thrive as an Association and lets us salute our colleagues. If you have any questions, please contact me at (845) 855-4839 or jtweed@trinitypawling.org.

I look forward to seeing you at the conference at Manhattan College! 

All the best,
Joseph M. Tweed
Past-President, NYSACAC and Chair, 2008 NYSACAC Nominating Committee

We are thrilled to announce that NIAGARA UNIVERSITY in Niagara Falls, NY has
agreed to be the host for the 2010 NYSACAC Spring Conference!

Located on the northern limits of the city of Niagara Falls, this 160-acre
campus runs along the top of picturesque Monteagle Ridge overlooking the
Niagara River gorge just four miles north of the world-famous waterfall. 
In the years since its founding in 1856, NU has retained a tradition of
emphasis on both the liberal and useful arts and sciences while it has grown into
a mid-sized university of over 2,800 undergraduates,
900 graduate students, and 900 students enrolled in
continuing and community education.

We are excited to begin the journey of creating an educational, fulfilling
and FUN 2010 Spring Conference with Niagara!

See what’s new and get updated on current events with the Spring 2008 edition of our newsletter! 

http://wsv2.nysacac.org/index.php/newsletter/

We are thrilled to announce that ST. JOHN’S UNIVERSITY in New York City has
agreed to be the host for the 2009 NYSACAC Spring Conference!

Since 1870, St. John’s has prepared students for personal and professional
success. They offer world-class academics, high-tech facilities and
friendly, residential campuses in dynamic New York City.

St. John’s University provides a diverse learning experience with students
hailing from 43 states and 131 countries.  These students pursue their
dreams on three New York City campuses and graduate centers in Oakdale, NY,
and Rome, Italy!  St. John’s offers over 100 academic programs, unique
courses like Discover New York, which uses the city as a “living textbook”
and of course their exciting Division I, BIG EAST athletic programs.

We are excited to begin the journey of creating an educational, fulfilling
and FUN 2009 Spring Conference with St. John’s!

This section of the website will be updated as more details are available about this year’s forum. Stay tuned!!

You can now register online for the 2008 Professional Development Forum.

Register Online Today!

Our Spring Conference is fast approaching! 

The Call for Proposals Form, the Sponsorship Form and the Exhibitor Forms are all now available under “Programs and Events - Annual Conference”. 

House Committee Approves HEA Draft

The House Education & Labor Committee approved on November 15 its
draft of Higher Education Act (HEA) reauthorization. Congress has
previously reauthorized some higher education programs through its
reconciliation bill, the College Cost Reduction Act, which became law
on September 27. The Senate passed its HEA bill on July 24.

Like the Senate bill, the House committee’s bill includes guidelines
for relationships between colleges and student loan lenders, and
requires colleges to disclose their transfer-of-credit policies. The
bill also includes college cost provisions that provide additional
Pell Grant funds to schools that hold their tuition growth to a
certain level, but also account for state-level support of higher
education by requiring a “state maintenance of effort.”

The bill also weakens the so-called “90/10 rule,” which requires
proprietary institutions to garner at least 10 percent of their
revenue from sources other than the federal government. The higher
education community is opposed to this provision and will work to
remove it during the legislative process. The next step for the House
HEA bill is floor debate, which has not yet been scheduled.

Susan Cohen, The Cooper Union
Heath Einstein, Solomon Schechter School of Westchester

For those of us who have served in SUNY for more years than we’d like to
count, today is indeed a sad day. Two of our founding members have
passed on and with them an important link to the growth and maturation
of both SUNY and SUNYCAP.

Dave Truax, admissions counselor, then director at Plattsburgh, then the
first Assistant Vice Chancellor for Enrollment at SUNY System, was a
true SUNY pioneer. A graduate of Cortland, he was SUNY to the core.
While his focus at Plattsburgh was Plattsburgh, he also understood the
bigger picture of SUNY and what SUNY could and should be. As president
of SUNYCAP and later on at SUNY System, he worked tirelessly for the
expansion of the SUNY message to all publics in and out of state. A true
gentleman, he was a keen observer of talent, as evidenced by the success
of Rich Higgins and Mike Walsh at Plattsburgh, and a mentor to dozens of
other young admission professionals who now hold positions of
significant responsibility.

Larry Appel. All you need to is say his name and people’s faces light up
and a “Larry” story comes to mind. For over 30 years Larry was Sullivan
County Community College. His favorite recruitment statement to the
thousands of guidance counselors he met with over his career was, “I’ll
gladly take the top 100% of your graduating class!” And he meant it with
all his heart. Larry also was the poster child for the community college
movement. He believed deeply in the mission and the opportunity that our
community colleges offered to all New Yorkers. In the early days, his
voice was sometimes the only, unapologetic voice, that spoke for the
community colleges. Those of you who serve your regions as members of
community colleges owe a huge debt to Larry for his tireless efforts.
And that was just one side of Larry. SUNY was also Larry’s life and his
involvement in a variety of SUNYCAP ventures testifies to this. For
decades, it seemed, Larry’s presentation at New Professional
Orientation, helped to lead many of us to successfully navigate that
first, confusing, year in admissions.

For those of us who had the privilege to know, to work with, break bread
with and laugh with Dave and Larry, this is a bittersweet time for sure.
Yet remember there can be no doubt amongst us that we are better
professionals and better people for having shared the experience.

God bless.

Rich Bodenschatz
SUNY New Paltz

Action Alert: FY08 Education Funding

President Bush, just as he threatened, vetoed the FY08 education appropriations bill on November 13, citing excessive spending. The House of Representatives approved the Labor-HHS-Education funding bill (HR 3034) late last week (by a vote of 274 to 141), following the Senate’s lead (by a vote of 56 to 37).  The bill is a 4.8% increase over FY07 levels, and is less than $10 billion more than the President’s request. The Statement of Administration Policy < http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/legislative/sap/110-1/hr3043sap-2-h.pdf > released on November 6 details the President’s objection to the conference report.

The bill provides much-needed, yet modest increases over FY07 levels for several of NACAC’s priority programs, including the maximum Pell award at $4,435 (a $125 increase), $858 million for TRIO (a $30 million increase) and $318 million for GEAR UP (a $15 million increase). The bill also provides a $34 million increase for the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program (ESSCP), bringing FY08 funding to $50 million. This funding level will make ESSCP grant funds available to high schools for the first time, allowing needy high schools to apply for federal funds to hire school counselors.  The President’s budget request eliminated ESSCP and provided no increases for GEAR UP, TRIO, or the Pell Grant maximum award.

This bill has enjoyed strong bipartisan support throughout the appropriations process, beginning at the subcommittee level all the way through floor passage in each chamber. Write your members of Congress < http://capwiz.com/nacac> and urge them to continue to support HR 3043, the FY08 Labor/HHS/Education appropriations bill, when it returns to the House and Senate for veto override votes.

Susan Cohen, The Cooper Union

Heath Einstein, Solomon Schechter School of Westchester

Government Relations Co-Chairs

< http://capwiz.com/nacac/home/ >

The Winter Newsletter deadline is shortly approaching.  You may submit an article on a topic related to Admissions, Financial Aid, Enrollment Management, Recruitment, or the college search process in general.  The “Member Updates” section is a great place to announce office Promotions, upcoming Marriages or recent Child Births!

If you submit an article that is chosen for publication, you could win a gift card to one of the following:  Barnes & Noble, BestBuy, iTunes, Target, or Starbuck’s.

If your article is not chosen for one of the newsletters, you will still be entered into a drawing for an iPod Nano!!!!  The drawing will be held at the annual conference at Manhattanville in June.  So get those articles in soon!!!

Please submit articles to James Luciano at LUCIANOJ@UNION.EDU

This is just a reminder if you have not renewed your NYSACAC membership!

Current memberships will expire on December 31, 2007.  We would not want you to miss out on all of the fantastic things NYSACAC has planned for 2008.

Renewing your membership is simple:

Simply visit the NYSACAC website, http://www.nysacac.org
Click on the “Membership” link. 
On the right hand side of the page, there will be a box titled “Not a Member?....”
Click in this box to download your application
Send your application and membership fees to the NYSACAC address in Albany

Just one application is needed per institution/organization.

Keep us up to date on anyone from your institution/organization that was a 2007 member, but is no longer. 
For a 2007 membership list from your institution/ organization, please send an email to membership@nysacac.org.

We look forward to working with you in 2008! 

Our 2008 Spring Conference is coming up fast!  Below, please find the link to the Call for Proposals Form.  All forms are due back to Karen Brown by December 15th, 2007.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Karen at brownka@oneonta.edu or Riana Ardis at nysacac@nysacac.org. 

NYSACAC_Call_for_Proposals_2008.doc

Action Alert: FY08 Education Funding

Congress is in the process of reconciling the House and Senate versions of the FY08 education appropriations bill. The House bill passed July 19, and the Senate bill passed October 23. The President has threatened to veto both bills because they exceed his budget recommendations for FY08 education funding. Read the White House’s Statement of Administration Policy < http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/legislative/sap/110-1/s1710sap-s.pdf> for details on the President’s objections to the Senate bill, and NACAC supports both bills, but is encouraging the conference committee to honor the House bill’s funding levels for GEAR UP, TRIO, and the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program (ESSCP). See the chart on NACAC’s Advocacy for Students < http://www.nacacnet.org/MemberPortal/GovernmentRelations/advocacy_students.htm> web page to compare the House and Senate bills with the President’s request.

Despite both bills’ strong bipartisan support, and the fact that it will likely be packaged with appropriations bills for the Departments of Defense and Veterans’ Affairs, there is still a strong likelihood that the President will veto the entire package. Please contact NACAC staff at legislative@nacacnet.org with any questions.

Heath Einstein, Solomon Schechter School of Westchester

Susan Cohen, The Cooper Union

Oct. 26

Where New Federal Student Grant Funds Are Going

As many college financial aid officers have continued to scorn the federal
government’s two newest student-aid programs, the Academic Competitiveness
Grant and National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (SMART)
Grant Programs, questioning the grants’ usefulness to students and
criticizing the burdens of administering it, Education Department officials
have urged patience. Let’s wait until we have good data to see how (and how
many) students benefited, they argued.

Well, the first year’s numbers are in (some of them, at least), and perhaps
predictably, the picture is mixed. The Education Department released data
showing that it had awarded nearly $430 million in funds from the two
programs to about 360,000 students in the 2006-7 fiscal year — $233 million
to 300,000 students in Academic Competitiveness Grants, and about $196
million to nearly 61,000 students in SMART Grants.

The $430 million is far short of the $790 million that Congress
appropriated for the first year based on the department’s projections about
how much it hoped to spend, a gap that could be read as a sign that the
programs have fallen well short of initial expectations. While department
officials discouraged such a reading — noting that the projections used by
Congress were “budget math, not based on sophisticated estimates,” as
Kristin Conklin, an aide to Under Secretary Sara Martinez Tucker put it —
they acknowledged that the program’s first year pointed out numerous
challenges that face the programs aimed at encouraging more low-income
students to be rigorously prepared to enter high-demand scientific and
other fields in college.

“We’re happy for the 300,000 [Academic Competitiveness Grant recipients]
who were able to add to their grant monies, and the 61,000 majoring in
much-needed fields,” Tucker said in an interview Thursday. “These are
monies these kids would have had to either work or borrow to complement. We
have to study why we had penetration in some markets more than others, but
you celebrate any penetration you’re able to accomplish.”

As Tucker suggests, the department’s data show great variation by state in
who qualified for the two grant programs, as seen in the table below.
States like Arkansas and Minnesota, both of which have programs that
encourage or require high school students (particularly those at low income
levels) to take a rigorous college preparatory curriculum, had
disproportionately high numbers of recipients of Academic Competitiveness
Grants, which provide $750 for the first year and $1,300 for the second to
Pell Grant-eligible, full-time, degree-program American citizens who have
completed a curriculum deemed rigorous by the U.S. education secretary.
(SMART Grants award up to $4,000 a year to juniors and seniors in certain
high-demand fields, as long as they maintain a 3.0 college grade point
average.)

Other states, meanwhile, had poor showings, as just 10 percent of the
estimated potential recipients of the grants in Arizona applied for and
received them, as did just 9 percent of Alaska’s potential recipients. “Are
there really only 60 students in the State of Alaska” who want this
additional federal money? Conklin asked. “Probably not. We probably need to
do a much better job of getting the word out there.”

But even in states where many students qualified for the two new grants,
which Congress created last year, there is great variation in how they are
distributed. The Education Department’s fact sheet about how the new grants
fared in the first year trumpets the fact that four University of
California campuses were among the top 10 recipients nationally of the
Academic Competitiveness Grants. (The top five recipients of the Academic
Competitiveness Grants were Pennsylvania State University, UC-Davis, the
University of Texas at Austin, UCLA, and Ohio State University; the top
five SMART Grant recipients were Brigham Young University, the University
of Phoenix, UC-San Diego, DeVry University, and Penn State.)

The University of California’s performance is due in large part to the fact
that applicants to the university are required to have successfully
completed a high school curriculum like the one that qualifies a student
for the federal grants. So it is logical that the university would fare
well in the department’s accounting, and “we are always interested in more
grant support from any source for low-income students, no matter what they
call it or how they award it,” said Nancy Coolidge, coordinator of
government relations in student financial support for the University of
California system.

Grateful as she might be for the support for her students, though, Coolidge
notes that because of the structure and requirements of the two grant
programs, students at other institutions in California don’t fare nearly as
well — and even UC’s own students may not benefit fully. The fact that
non-citizen permanent residents of the United States are barred from
receiving the grants limits the programs’ reach in a state where “that’s a
very large population,” Coolidge said.

And a far smaller proportion of students at the state’s other (and much
bigger) university system, the California State University, qualify for the
two new grant programs even though Cal State applicants must have completed
the same rigorous high school curriculum (known as the “A-G” requirements)
as students at the University of California. The difference? Many more
students at Cal State attend part time, and therefore are ineligible for
the grants.

The picture is even worse at California’s many community colleges, says
Linda Michalowski, vice chancellor for student services and special
programs for the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office. In
addition to the issues Coolidge identified about citizenship and part-time
enrollment, the two-year institutions are hampered by the fact that they
are basically open enrollment, and do not as a general rule collect the
transcripts of their students. So even though an institution like Long
Beach City College had 8,005 students whose family incomes were low enough
that they received Pell Grants in 2006-7, the two-year college had just 91
recipients of Academic Competitiveness Grants that year, Michalowski said.

Michalowski and Coolidge both said that while they appreciated the
Education Department’s goal of using the new programs to try to improve the
rigor of high school curriculums and the ambitions of low-income students
to aim higher, they were unsure it was the right thrust for federal policy.

“The students [at the University of California] who receive these grants
were already going to college, and this reduces their [financial] burden,
and that’s good,” said Coolidge. “But we support the federal contribution
being that of access. I hope more youngsters are stimulated to take more
rigorous courses, but the jury’s still out on that. But in the meantime, a
lot of needy students are being left out.”

The department aims to double the number of recipients of the two grant
programs by 2010-11.

See Recipients of New Academic Competitiveness and SMART Grants by State at the link below:

Source: U.S. Education Department

— Doug Lederman

The original story and user comments can be viewed online at
http://insidehighered.com/news/2007/10/26/grants.

Good afternoon!  I am happy to announce that David Coates of Kenmore East High School has been appointed to the Executive Board as a High School Delegate!  He will be replacing Scott Hooker, (who recently was elected to the NACAC Board of Directors) and will serve for the remainder of the 2007-08 term.  Dave comes highly recommended by many of our colleagues and will be a great addition to the Executive Board!  Congratulations Dave, and Welcome aboard!  And congratulations once again to Scott, as well as to Richard Alvarez, who also was appointed to the NACAC Board of Directors!

Thank you,

Sean

Federal Update: October 19, 2007

For details on the items below, more information on federal activities
regarding college access, and for daily updates, visit NACAC’s
Government Relations Web page here:
Nacac

Senate Continues on FY08 Funding; President Threatens Veto
The Senate continues debate today on the fiscal year 2008 education
appropriations bill, S 1710. The Senate bill, along with its House
companion, provides significant increases for NACAC priority programs
like GEAR UP and TRIO, as well as enough additional funding to make
ESSCP grant funds available to high schools for the first time. ESSCP
is the only federal program that provides funds to schools to hire
school counselors, and as such, getting ESSCP funds to high schools
has been a NACAC priority for many years. Visit NACAC’s Advocacy for
Students web page to see how the Senate bill compares with the House
bill (which passed July 19), FY07 funding, and the President’s FY08
request.

The President has threatened to veto both the House and Senate
versions of the bill for exceeding his budget recommendations for
health, education, and labor programs. Read the Statement of
Administration Policy for details on the President’s objections. Use
NACAC’s Legislative Action Center to contact your Senators and urge
them to support S 1710 and reject all across-the-board cuts and any
amendments that would cut education funding.

New this week:

>>The Department of Education has issued final guidance on the
collecting, maintaining, and reporting of racial and ethnic data. The
guidance becomes effective December 3.

>>The Senate HELP committee has released bipartisan draft legislation
to reauthorize No Child Left Behind. Stay tuned for details and for
news on Senate markup of the draft.

>>The Department of State has announced a request for grant proposals
for EducationUSA funds to provide education advising services in
Eurasia and Central Asia.

>>The Department of Education has released updates to the Federal
Student Aid Handbook for the 2007-2008 award year.

For more information on NACAC’s government relations activities, visit
the Web site or contact NACAC staff at legislative@nacacnet.org

Good Afternoon!  I would like to bring everyone up to date on the
happenings at the NACAC conference in Austin.  NYSACAC members stayed very
busy in Austin. The Executive Board had a very productive meeting on
Wednesday evening and hundreds of people attended our General Membership
Meeting and Reception, sponsored by Manhattanville College, on Thursday.
Special thanks to Jose Flores and his team for putting together such a
great event!  We look forward to a fantastic conference at Manhattanville
in June.

I also thought you would like to take a look at what actions were taken at
the Assembly.  Please see the 2007 NACAC Assembly report below.  As you can see,
two past presidents of NYSACAC, Richard Alvarez of CUNY and Scott Hooker of

Allendale-Columbia School, were elected to the NACAC Board of Directors!
They join Lisa Sohmer of Garden School, already a board member.  I am
pleased to offer our congratulations and best wishes to both Richard and
Scott!

Thank you,
Sean
/images/uploads/Report_of_the_2007_Assembly1.pdf

Lisa Sohmer, Director of College Counseling at Garden School, Past
President of NYSACAC, and current member of the NACAC Board of Directors,
was recently interviewed on CBS News. Please use the link below to view the
interview!

Thanks,
Sean Kaylor

http://www.gardenschool.org/news.aspx?LKHGJKGH45998798JHGJGCVG=52

The Council Grant Award program was created to provide financial support to individuals or state and regional affiliates who assist students in the high school to college transition for the purpose of professional development and/or to finance innovative programs that support the college admission profession or process. These grants are intended to provide assistance to those who might otherwise be unable to participate in professional development opportunities or implement a new program.

The two types of grants are:

Professional Development Grants:
Provide financial support for individuals to attend NACAC and ACAC professional development programs who might otherwise be unable to attend.

Special Project Grants:

Provide support for innovative projects that serve our profession or our students. May be awarded to an individual or a state affiliate.

For more information on these grants, see the link below or call Riana Ardis at 518-472-1977.

Link

Before I begin, I’d like to take one last opportunity to thank everyone involved in the planning and execution of the Spring Conference, especially members of the Steering Committee and the staff at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. It was a tremendous success.

Several new individuals have joined the Executive Board this year and I’d like to introduce them to you. In no particular order, I would like to welcome:  Susan Cohen, The Cooper Union, co-chair of Government Relations; Dr. Patricia Peek, Fordham University, and Kent Rinehart, Marist College, co-chairs of Media, Marketing, and Technology; Timothy Lee, Hilbert College, co-chair of Membership; Laurie Austin, CUNY, co-chair of Professional Development; Christopher Doyle, Marist College, co-chair of Development; James Luciano, Union College, co-chair of the Newsletter; Kevin Reed, SUNY Geneseo, and Dennis Nicholson, Le Moyne College, College Delegates; Dave Motta, Niskayuna High School, High School Delegate; Donna Schaffner, Daemen College, and Kristen Neary, Niskayuna High School, co-chairs of College Fairs; and Jane Heaphy, Goddard Riverside Community Center, CBO liaison.

Please join me in welcoming these talented individuals to the team. For a complete list of 2007-08 NYSACAC Executive Board members, please visit our Web site (http://www.nysacac.org) or open the attachment below.  In addition, many thanks to all of our board members for the past year, your help and expertise is much appreciated.

As of mid-August, membership stood at 1,217, which includes 346 new members. This represents an increase of 16 members from last year. My thanks go out to Andrea Nadler from Hofstra and Jennifer Hess from SUNY Buffalo for all their hard work in 2006-07 as co-chairs of the Membership Committee. In addition, the number of individuals from New York State that are members of NACAC grew considerably. Currently, we have 1,043 total members, an increase of 90 over the previous year. This increase provides us with two additional delegates at the national level. This brings our total number of delegates to 21, making New York the third largest State & Regional (S&R) (behind only Southern ACAC, 25, and New England ACAC, 24), and the largest single-state S&R.  Please note that to better correspond with our fiscal year, we have changed our membership year to run from January through December beginning in 2008.

After months of hard work, our new Web site is up and running! Greg Wasserman and Jackie Pravda put forth a tremendous effort to revitalize the site. The site offers many new features, including:
• member email accounts
• online membership signup/renewal
• online financial transactions (Paypal)
• job postings

I invite you to visit us at http://www.nysacac.org . A special thank you to Joe Tweed, Past President, for spearheading this project during his presidency.

The organization’s fiscal health remains stable. While the 2006-07 accounting will not be complete until December, we hope to end the year with a balanced budget. However, there is a possibility that we may run a slight deficit for the year due to several new initiatives that impacted the operating budget this year, including the Web site redesign, hiring a full-time executive assistant, and securing office space in Albany (NYSACAC’s new home). All three of these initiatives position NYSACAC very well for the future.  Our investment account with Merrill Lynch has been performing quite well. The account has realized significant gains this year and we currently have $280,000 in our investment portfolio.

Please note our new fiscal year will run from January 1 through December 31, starting in 2008.

As previously mentioned, we hired a full-time Executive Assistant. Riana Ardis, a 1999 graduate of Siena College, joined the NYSACAC team in July. You may contact Riana at 518-472-1977 or nysacac@nysacac.org for assistance. Please join me in welcoming Riana.

The Seedling Program was offered at two locations this year (CUNY Hunter College and Manhattan College) and 105 rising ninth graders took part in these programs. Overall, the programs were a huge success. Our goal for 2008 is to have at least five programs, one in each of the five New York City boroughs. Kudos to Committee members Carla Shere, Huthaifah Kareem, Njemile Davis, and Natalie Sandy.

It was another successful year for Camp College. Two Camp College programs took place this summer, July 12-15 and July 20-22 at Union College and SUNY Potsdam, respectively. SUNY Potsdam was the first ever SUNY school to hold a Camp College experience on their campus. A total of 139 students attended Camp College and had a wonderful experience. In addition, over 50 college admission and high school guidance professionals volunteered to serve as mentors and chaperones to the students. Thanks to all who gave of their time by participating in this program. Special thanks to Chris Milton and Karen Staller for their extraordinary effort.

The annual Summer Institute for new professionals, held at Skidmore College in July, was very successful again this year. My thanks to co-chairs Peter Farrell and Ann Wallace and all the volunteers for their hard work.

Our annual Executive Board Retreat was also hosted by Skidmore College in mid-August. New members of the Board were welcomed and the focus of our discussion centered on increasing membership, additional Web site enhancements to benefit members, and a more integrated approach to fundraising and sponsorship. The retreat was extremely productive, and members of the Executive Board are busy working toward our goals.

Fall 2007 kicks off with the NACAC National Conference, September 26th-29th in Austin, Texas. If you are there, please join us at the General Membership Meeting. This meeting will be held Thursday, the 27th from 4:15 – 6:00 pm at the Hilton Austin in Salons A/B . Following the meeting, please join us for a reception sponsored by Manhattanville College, the host for the 2008 NYSACAC Conference. Jose Flores, Vice President of Enrollment Management, and his team look forward to welcoming you. Please visit the NACAC website, http://www.nacacnet.org , for the complete conference schedule.

Thank you all for the great work you do. See you in Austin!

Sincerely,

Sean P. Kaylor
President

The College Board’s Access & Diversity Collaborative is pleased to announce a new seminar to be held September 12-13 in Philadelphia. “From Theory to Action: Policy and Program Development Strategies to Meet Educational Goals in Lawful Ways” will cover:

*Implications for higher education stemming from the June 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 and Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education (involving race-conscious student assignment plans);
*In-depth discussions of key substantive legal issues, including critical mass, race-neutral alternatives, and program evaluation;
*Institutional enrollment management models that illustrate prevailing federal legal standards, as well as their potential positive impact on achieving access and diversity goals;
*A process blueprint for achieving success and minimizing legal risk, including a discussion of strategies for addressing complaints and letters of inquiry (from various sources, including the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights); and
*Communication strategies to support diversity interests in the “Courts of Public Opinion.”

This one-and-one-half day seminar will be held at the Courtyard by Marriott Philadelphia Downtown, beginning with lunch on Wednesday, September 12, and concluding by 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 13.

To register for the seminar, simply complete the registration form and fax it to the attention of Anna Cody at (212) 713-8184. To make hotel reservations at our group rate of $189 for a single or double room, please call (800) 321-2211 or (215) 496-3200, and be sure to mention the College Board.

Additional background information about the Access & Diversity Collaborative can be found at http://www.collegeboard.com/diversitycollaborative. If you have any questions, we can be reached at diversitycollaborative@collegeboard.org. Thank you.

We have just completed a comprehensive redesign of the NYSACAC Web site. We are now able to offer our members a host of new online resources to enhance your ability to serve your students and families as they navigate the college admission process. In addition, we will continue to provide pertinent information about college admission counseling. Please take some time to become more familiar with the site and enjoy all of the sections, including all of the members only areas. I look forward to working with you throughout the year and wish you all the best.

Please click here to view the 2007 Summer Newsletter. 

Welcome Executive Board Members!!!