[Oasfaa] Cash for College Grows!

[Mowdy, Mary]

Good things attract more good things!  

Background: 

Because of its leadership on GEAR UP and a successful previous grant effort funded for the National Governor's Association by the Lumina Foundation, OSRHE recently received a special invitation to participate in a Lumina Foundation project aimed at widening the efforts of its College Goal Sunday program to other states.  OSRHE quickly realized the potential to blend Oklahoma's Cash for College efforts with Lumina's College Goal Sunday and asked if OASFAA could also be represented as well as OSRHE at a Lumina presentation.

On September 19, Mary Mowdy, on behalf of OSRHE and Scott Medlin, this year's OASFAA chair for Cash for College, attended the Lumina presentation.  Lumina prepared and presented a well-organized series of sessions on their College Goal Sunday program; a program that targets low-income families who probably have not sent a family member to college before.  The goal of the College Goal Sunday model is to have high school seniors and their families spend a Sunday afternoon at selected sites across the state where they receive assistance in completing and submitting the FAFSA.

While we felt the College Goal Sunday program was an important and worthwhile effort, we believe families need more than assistance with the FAFSA. As OASFAA members know, helping families become more aware of the whole process of going to college is very important. We don't want to overlook the issues of being academically prepared for post-secondary school and once admitted, successfully receiving financial aid and then, once attending, knowing where to go for help with any needed student services on campus.  We also want to create timely opportunities for families to follow up on the wide variety of topics we will broadcast again this year via Cash for College on February 6.

With an idea of what we wanted College Goal Sunday to be in Oklahoma, OSRHE inquired back to the Lumina Foundation as to whether they would be willing to consider a grant proposal for something inclusive of the College Goal Sunday FAFSA focus but enhanced "Oklahoma-style" to include OHLAP, GEAR UP	 efforts, and other college preparation and financial aid opportunities.  They said yes!  So, with the wonderful resident grant-writing expertise of Dolores Mize and the public relations expertise of Donna Spain-Bryant, both at OSRHE, as well as the brainstorming of a number of other folks, we're now working to meet the November 1 grant proposal deadline with the Lumina Foundation.

Where do we go from here?

If our grant proposal is funded, we will need to be prepared to implement an Oklahoma College Goal Sunday THIS YEAR on February 9, 2003, THREE DAYS AFTER the Cash for College program airs on February 6.  We're proposing to start out "small" - with about 35 sites at selected post secondary institutions across the state.  This first year, with plenty of financial aid community volunteers, we think we can successfully support sites at the public colleges and universities and at the large private colleges on this single Sunday afternoon event.  Participating sites should invite other schools not included in this first year's sweep but located nearby, to be represented as well.  The OSRHE Higher Ed Centers will possibly be offered as sites as well.  After this first year, we will evaluate whether we're ready to expand to and support additional sites for College Goal Sunday 2004.  Success of the Oklahoma College Goal Sunday will depend in large part on OASFAA volunteers stepping forward and actively participating with support from their campuses.

At these sites on Sunday, February 9, OASFAA volunteers and other will be present to 1) help families complete the FAFSA, 2) provide information about the site school(s)' academic programs, financial aid and scholarship programs, student support services, and other attractions unique to that school or community and 3) provide information and enrollment opportunities for OHLAP.  GEAR UP and OHLAP staff, as well as OGSLP staff will also be present at many of these sites to provide additional campus-based support.  In our grant proposal will be a request for a small amount of funds to offer to each site to help market the event locally and make the event a success.  Further, Lumina will want each site to have a relatively standardized agenda and approach for the day, including volunteers' wearing College Goal Sunday t-shirts and displaying the College goal Sunday logo at the site. 

The Lumina Foundation believes a very important part of the effort is advanced publicity.  Plans are already underway for a variety of things that will promote not only College Goal Sunday but also Cash for College.  The grant opportunity also affords us the opportunity to engage the OSRHE Communicators Council - an advisory council of the college public information officers - to help with local outreach and public relations, so OASFAA members will have good help at their campus level to make College Goal Sunday a local success.  We plan to blend statewide media and marketing with the anticipated local news coverage at some of the sites as well.

We're very hopeful that we will have a new and enhanced opportunity to offer a full menu of meaningful information to Oklahomans in their communities where they need it and when they need it. We hope you will be as excited as we are about College Goal Sunday and will give serious consideration about volunteering as a site coordinator for your school.    We will need to have site coordinators identified as early as November 1.

Please do not hesitate to contact either of us with your questions or ideas! 

Scott Medlin and Mary Mowdy