2025 PLAN
The intended goals and strategies for the second year of the Consortium for College Opportunity are to:
1) Raise awareness among CBO stakeholders about selective colleges
In an effort to broaden stakeholder engagement in selective college admissions and mitigate the student backlash of the post-SFFA environment, the Consortium will implement an outreach campaign to raise awareness among CBO stakeholders about selective college admissions, opportunities, and processes. Leveraging the reach of CBO networks, the campaign will focus on demystifying selective colleges and amplifying messages around admissions engagement, affordability, economic mobility, and on campus resources for FLI students. Strategies will include social media outreach, virtual workshops and events, engagement in prominent national events, and dissemination of resources.
2) Expand and deepen the application pipeline for Member Colleges
The Consortium builds the capacity of CBOs to engage and support their students in selective college admissions through events and activities that focus on professional development for educators, technical assistance to CBOs, and information and support for students. The Consortium will continue to deepen its partnerships with TRIO and GEAR UP while also engaging broad-based and HALI student serving CBOs.
The Consortium will also facilitate virtual and in person opportunities for Member Colleges to connect with participating CBO, will promote members’ pipeline events (in person, virtual and on the road) and will match members with CBO partners based on admission priorities.
3) Increase opportunities for FLI students to reap the benefits of early admissions processes
The Early Read Framework will help Member Colleges remove early admissions barriers for FLI students, increase their participation in early admissions opportunities, and raise their colleges’ profile early in the process. Colleges that opt-in will offer a service to CBOs to have their students’ basic application and financial aid materials screened in advance of early admission deadlines.
4) Expand, strengthen, and make more efficient the CBO-college partnership community
The Consortium will strengthen relationships, foster collaboration, and promote knowledge sharing between colleges and CBOs. The Consortium will fill a void in the field by becoming the “hub” for identifying, cultivating, and disseminating best practices that focus exclusively on the inequities faced by FLI students in the selective college admissions process. Potential activities include an Annual Convening, Consortium meet-ups at national conferences, and virtual professional networking opportunities. Other initiatives include dissemination of a master college travel calendar and CBO engagement calendar, standardizing the CBO profile, synthesizing information on FLI services at Member Colleges, identifying staff liaisons, offering targeted professional development, and advocating on relevant policy issues.