Supporting Patrons' College Planning Information Needs

1. “Supporting Patrons’ College
Planning Information Needs”
ALA Publishing Workshop
August 29, 2015

2. Today’s Presenter
Africa Hands, MLIS
Author: Successfully Serving the
College Bound (ALA Edition, 2015)

3. Agenda
• Why offer college planning programs?
• Who are your college bound patrons?
• Programs and services for college bound
patrons
• Working with community partners
• Resources to promote at your library

4. Where do you work?
What is your role?

5. Why offer college planning programs?

6. • To meet the needs of low-income college bound
patrons
• To promote materials in your collection
• To support economic development in your
community
• To support society at large
It’s in our library DNA

7. Who are your college bound
patrons?

8. First-gen students
•Work 20+ hours in final year of
high school
•Finance is important to college
selection
•Tend to enroll closer to home
•Less likely to live on-campus
•Enter college with undeclared
majors

9. Nontraditional
students
•Attend part-time
•Work full-time
•Financially
independent
•Do not have high-
school diploma
•Have dependents

10. Military-service members and veterans
•Attend community
colleges
•Have family
obligations
•Drawn to online,
distance education
programs
•Prefer flexible
degree programs

11. Students with disabilities
•Range of disabilities
•All ages
•Different information
needs

12. Question time
• Which of these subgroups do you see as a
potential target population for your college
planning programs?
• Who is missing?

13. Learn more
• Almanac of Higher Education
• Digest of Education Statistics
• Integrated Postsecondary Education Data
System
• State level higher education assistance
agencies

14. Programs and Services

15. Question time
What programs or services are
currently offered at your library?

16. • Introduction to college resources @ your library
• Back-to-school night for specific sub-groups
• College fairs – large or small scale
• Campus visit preview
• Financial planning workshop
• Computer access
• Printed materials

17. We can’t do it all

18. Question time
• Who are potential partners for the college-
bound population you identified?
• Where can you find information about the
potential partner?

19. Partnerships
• Levels of partnership
▫ Glance
▫ Date
▫ Engagement
▫ Marriage
• Staff members as partners
▫ Experience, skills, and interests inventory

20. Partnerships at work

21. Creating partnerships
• Listen and learn
• Find natural fits
• Take a test drive
• Share the load

22. Online Information Resources

23. Resources to promote
• College Navigator
• KnowHow2Go
• Federal Student Aid
• Think College
• Heath Resource Center
• Database of Accredited Programs
• Campus Pride Index

24. What we’ve covered
• Four subgroups of college bound patrons
• Sources for data about the college bound
population
• Programming ideas and services
• Partnerships
• Resources for your college bound patrons

25. Questions

26. Thank you!
Africa Hands, MLIS
Author of Successfully Serving the College Bound
Email: asheri@rocketmail.com
Twitter: @africahands

27. Additional resources
• First-generation students:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/ed/2015/02/16/385470288/fitting-in-on-
campus-challenges-for-first-generation-students
• America’s Promise Fact Sheet: https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-
office/2015/01/09/fact-sheet-white-house-unveils-america-s-college-
promise-proposal-tuitio
• American Association of Community Colleges Fact Sheet:
http://www.aacc.nche.edu/AboutCC/Documents/Facts14_Data_R3.pdf
• Free Application for Federal Student Aid https://fafsa.ed.gov/
• Financial aid for military members and family members
https://studentaid.ed.gov/types/grants-scholarships/military
• http://todaysmilitary.com/living/paying-for-college
• https://studentaid.ed.gov/sites/default/files/scholarships-for-
military.pdf
• http://www.acenet.edu/higher-education/topics/Pages/College-Credit-
for-Military-Service.aspx

28. Additional resources
Library examples:
• College Depot at Phoenix Public Library
• Free Library of Philadelpia
• Calcasieu Parish Public Library
• New Brunswick Free Public Library
• Partnering with purpose: a guide to strategic partnership development
for libraries and other organizations by Crowther and Trott
• Directory for Online Learning http://www.petersons.com/online-
schools/
• LGBT-friendly campuses http://www.campusprideindex.org/
• Homeschoolers http://www.onlinecollege.org/2012/06/11/the-
homeschoolers-guide-to-getting-into-college/
• http://www.homeschool.com/articles/College05/
• http://www.thehomeschoolmom.com/high-school-
beyond/homeschool-to-college/

29. Images
https://www.flickr.com/photos/83633410@N07/7658134764/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisconnell/4074343848
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1971_Concrete_Bridge.jpg
https://www.flickr.com/photos/worldbank/4248399523
https://www.flickr.com/photos/departmentofed/8617312588/