Exponential Achievement Involves Six Components
Whether “college” means a traditional four-year college, trade school, community college, military service or other, it takes six components to get students ready.
Many organizations are eager to help you with these. You just need help organizing and mobilizing them so that you’re providing the right solutions to the right students at the right time for exponential achievement.
At our A6Academy we show you how to do that so that you’re free to focus on what you do best.
Hover your cursor over each for examples of the interventions that fall within each category.
- 1: AspirationDeveloping college aspirations as early as the fifth or sixth grade has a strong effect on whether a student will attend college. Practices in this component that have yielded results include information dissemination through direct mail, Web sites, posters, workshops, camps, college visits and career and interest inventories. Parental support and encouragement are also vital in this component of the framework.
- 2: AwarenessThe awareness component is focused on helping students explore the breadth and depth of postsecondary options. College is a complex enterprise that includes trade schools, ocational schools, community colleges, public and private colleges and universities, as well as education options in corporations, military service, and an ever-expanding online course delivery system. Understanding courses, majors, credit hours, tuition, financial aid, degrees and certificates are all important concepts in this component.
- 3: AchievementThe focus of this component is academic preparation. The practices that have yielded positive results range from well-structured one-on-one tutoring programs to college clubs and four year career and course plans. Schools that offer a plethora of advanced classes plus AP courses and dual credit classes see high college attendance rates among all students enrolled in these offerings.
- 4: AffordabilityUnderstanding college costs and determining the “net price” of attendance is helpful and motivating to many students and their families. Targeting discussions about college costs early with parents and later with students has proven effective in numerous college access programs across the country. Affordability can be part of a larger Financial Literacy curriculum which includes budgeting, investments, insurance, and financial planning.
- 5: ActualizationCollege admissions advising includes: helping students with the application and essay; facilitating college visits; helping students decide which college to attend and helping students learn how to use software that is available to assist in making decisions about careers and college selection as well as researching scholarships.
- 6: AttainmentRetention practices seek to ensure that students persist to degree completion. Academic support services including peer tutoring, counseling and academic advising, summer programs, mentoring, retreats, workshops, test taking and study skills development have all helped students graduate with the credentials set during the aspiration component.
Dr. Schmit is
Director of Grant Procurement and Student Support with the Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Multicultural Affairs
at Indiana University. Prior to his current position, he worked with the Indiana Career and Postsecondary Advancement Center for 15 years.
The Center communicated with over 300,000 households in Indiana through a direct mail campaign, hosted an extensive Web site on education
and work, and maintained a toll free Hotline for career and college information. In the ten years that he was with ICPAC, Indiana rose
from 47th to the 10th leading state in the nation in college attendance.