“To help more students enroll in college, focus on FAFSA submission rates and student understanding of how they will pay for college,” said Greg Cumpton, lead researcher on the Central Texas Student Futures Project at a major regional college counselor training. “Eighty percent of seniors who submit their FAFSA will directly enroll in some form of post-secondary education.”

On November 10, 2015, Dr. Cumpton discussed FAFSA completion, among other significant drivers of college enrollment, at the College Advising 201 session. The event was cosponsored by the Austin Chamber of Commerce and Texas Association of College Advising Counselors.

The Student Futures Project identified 6 major drivers/activities that impact college enrollment.

Click to enlarge. Source: UT-Austin Central Texas Student Futures Project. (www.centexstudentfutures.org)

Using a statistical method - the adjusted marginal predicted effect - Cumpton reviewed college enrollment records of over 8,500 high school graduates. His research showed that school counselors should significantly boost direct college enrollment rates if they drive these activities for each of their Class of 2016 seniors. For example, based upon Cumpton's research, first generation students should directly enroll in postsecondary education at 18% higher rates if they submit the FAFSA and consider the process easy.

"Individually, each of these interventions might have small effects on college enrollment," said Cumpton. "Collectively, these ways to help students will have a big impact."

“Every student is completely different,” said Lara Gueguen, college and career coordinator at Austin ISD. “Some students make the connection that they want to attend college after they visit a campus. Others have a discussion with someone that has the same career interests, or they do an internship that helps them make a career choice. College advisors and high schools are doing best practices when they are able to implement ALL kinds of activities to promote access and opportunity for students.”

The Austin Chamber is working with OneLogos, a data management company, to launch a regional dashboard this December, which will track district progress on drivers of college enrollment. The dashboard will provide college counselors with actionable and timely student-level data to make informed advising decisions. This effort is in support of the DTC70 initiative to increase Central Texas’ direct college enrollment rate to 70% for the Class of 2016.

Texas Higher Education Commissioner Raymund Paredes led off the training by reflecting on his upbringing in El Paso. He said his best advice on getting college/career ready was from his 8th grade teacher, Ms. Armes.

“You get ready for the SAT by taking the hardest courses in the school with the hardest teachers and read a lot,” said Paredes about Armes’ advice.

He commended the Chamber and high school counselors for setting the DTC70 goal, which he called in line with the state’s effort to achieve 60% credentials by 2030.