A debate over a plan to expand a fledgling college-advising program in Maryland highlights a critical fault line in the world of college access: whether to bank on already-high-achieving students to ensure program success or to focus on those with greater academic needs.
Documents recently submitted to Maryland lawmakers show that under the plan to expand , or ACES, from the Montgomery County district to more school systems statewide, only the top 10 percent of academic performers among the state鈥檚 47,000 low-income high school juniors and seniors鈥攐r 4,700 students鈥攚ould get the services of an 鈥渁cademic coach鈥� through ACES. College-access advocates鈥攊ncluding the director of the program鈥攚orry that such a narrow focus could shortchange the students who need help the most.
Leaders in the college advising field say Maryland鈥檚 dilemma is a common one.
鈥淭here is certainly a case to be made that with tight budgets, we have to do what we can, and making sure that students who achieved academically are not left behind constitutes a first point of triage鈥攁 fair argument,鈥� said David Hawkins, the executive director for educational content and policy at the National Association for College Admission Counseling, in Arlington, Va. 鈥淏ut there are other students who can succeed in postsecondary education, and in these situations, they get little of this sort of help.鈥�
White House Attention
Maryland鈥檚 proposed $5.3 million expansion plan鈥攚hich helps groups of low-income and otherwise disadvantaged students chart their way toward college鈥攊s part of a commitment by the University System of Maryland to fulfill a pledge it made during a 鈥渃all to action鈥� that President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama issued at the White House鈥檚 inaugural .
The plan鈥攑roduced by the Maryland Department of Education, the Maryland Association of Community Colleges, and the University System of Maryland鈥攊s also a response to state legislators鈥� call for a feasibility study on the expansion of ACES.
While not unprecedented, the planned expansion puts Maryland among a small but growing number of states looking to provide college advising beyond what students are likely to get, if at all, from their often-overburdened school counselors.
Some observers, particularly college-access practitioners in Maryland, question why ACES鈥攚hich made its debut in fall 2013鈥攊s being expanded when it has not yet built a record of success.
Joann A. Boughman, the senior vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University System of Maryland, concedes that ACES had only 鈥渁necdotal evidence鈥� of success when system officials offered it as a model during last year鈥檚 White House summit.
鈥淭he White House was asking what are some of the models we believe would be successful,鈥� Ms. Boughman said.
Proposed Emphasis Questioned
But the expansion plans show that officials of the state university system are banking on already-successful students to create a strong track record, whereas the program鈥檚 original intent鈥攁ccording to its director, Karen K. Callender鈥攚as to serve students 鈥渨ho are not sure they can gain access鈥� to college.
Ms. Callender questioned the wisdom of serving the highest-performing students, saying they would likely find their way to college even without the help of ACES.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e already slated for college, already prepared, because everyone supports the top 10 percent,鈥� she said.
Ms. Callender said ACES has enjoyed considerable success getting students enrolled in college who were less certain about whether they could go.
鈥淢any of the students will say: 鈥業 didn鈥檛 think I could go to college before ACES. I didn鈥檛 know where I could go. I didn鈥檛 know what I could do,鈥� 鈥� Ms. Callender said. 鈥淭hose are the kids we want to work with.鈥�
Ms. Boughman did not dispute the need to serve students beyond the top 10 percent. But she said the state education officials charged with expanding the ACES program don鈥檛 foresee being able to garner all the financial resources needed to do so.
鈥淥ur focus was purely the fact that we know that there is no way we are going to take this program big enough and comprehensive enough to get to all the students who need and deserve this type of help,鈥� Ms. Boughman said.
The issue is all the more critical given the $5.3 million state appropriation being sought to expand the ACES program鈥攁 figure that breaks down to about $1,100 per student.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e going to spend $5.3 million a year to increase college-going in Maryland, is there another strategy that could serve more students?鈥� said Elizabeth Morgan, the director of external relations for the National College Access Network, a Washington-based group that advocates for nonprofits working to expand college access.
鈥淭hat鈥檚, I think, a tough public-policy choice for a program that is essentially saying to some kids: We can鈥檛 help you because you aren鈥檛 good enough,鈥� Ms. Morgan said.
One District鈥檚 Version
In its current form, the ACES program provides a variety of services to high school students in the 154,000-student Montgomery County system who hail from low-income backgrounds, such as those from single-parent homes, immigrants, those in foster care, and those who are the first in their families to attend college or who are from groups that are historically underrepresented in college.
The program鈥攁 collaboration of the Montgomery County school system; Montgomery College, a two-year, public college; and the Universities at Shady Grove, a partnership campus for nine schools in the state university system鈥攕eeks to 鈥渃reate a seamless pathway from high school to college completion.鈥� Its $1 million funding primarily comes from Montgomery College, Ms. Callender said.
The program relies on paid, full-time 鈥渁cademic coaches鈥� from Montgomery College who are placed at 10 high schools to provide a 鈥渃ase-management approach鈥� that includes鈥攁mong other services鈥攈elp with filling out financial-aid forms and navigating the college-admissions process in general. It also features college-entrance-exam preparation and 鈥渟ummer bridge鈥� programs to ease students鈥� transition into college and reduce remedial-coursetaking.
There are now a total of 1,300 ACES students, according to a December 2014 White House report.
The expansion plan calls for 38 ACES coaches and 19 program assistants to serve the 4,700 students in the top 10 percent of Maryland鈥檚 low-income 11th and 12th graders. The intent is to keep the coach-to-student ratio at 1-to-125 and the program assistant-to-student ratio at 1-to-250.
Elementary and secondary counselors in Maryland have an average caseload of 357 students, according to NACAC, far beyond the American School Counselor Association鈥檚 recommendation of 250 students.
Efforts to obtain complete data from ACES on its students鈥� progress did not succeed, but the White House report notes that 鈥�98 percent of the [Montgomery County public school] seniors in ACES applied to a two- or four-year college or university.鈥�
