Hobson's / CGI K12-Community College Initiative

Hobsons and AASA commit to building bridges between high schools and community colleges HobsonsDENVER, CO – June 11 2015– Today, AASA, The School Superintendents Association, and Hobsons—the world’s leader in connecting learning to life—announced a joint CGI America Commitment to Action to improve access and student success in community college. With 62 percent of jobs expected to require at least a certificate or associate degree by 2020, community colleges play an increasingly important role in preparing students for new opportunities. However, despite best efforts, community colleges continue to struggle with retaining and graduating students. Often times, entering freshmen must enroll in remedial courses—which don’t count as credit toward a degree—or don’t have access to advising and degree planning. To address these barriers, AASA and Hobsons are bringing together high school, school district and community college leaders to create clear pathways for students to progress to and through community college. Similar partnerships between local high schools and community colleges have helped reduce college costs and improve success for students—with new initiatives such as dual-enrollment and new placement criteria. “Students succeed when they understand how their education connects to life, which is why it is critical that high school advising focuses on making this connection with students early on,” said Stephen M. Smith, president of advising and admissions solutions at Hobsons. “By bringing together school district and community college leadership, we hope to find new and innovative ways to ensure a more seamless transition from high school to college so that students arrive prepared to succeed.” “It’s all about targeting the individual needs of every student in every school,” said Daniel A. Domenech, executive director, AASA. “School districts across the country need to collaborate with community colleges to help students who may not have the financial resources available to attend the traditional four-year university, or may not want a four year degree after graduating high school. These students have every right to succeed in the 21st century global economy. That’s one reason why this collaboration is vitally important in our society.” To ensure the development of these partnerships, AASA and Hobsons will host a series of working groups that bring together district, high school, and community college administrators to address the issues of student access, preparedness, persistence and graduation. This work will also be informed by Hobsons’ student advising via the Naviance and Starfish platforms, which serve millions of students from grade school to grad school. From these gatherings, the partners will then develop and disseminate a series of best practices and guides. About Hobsons Hobsons is the world’s leader in connecting learning to life. Through our unique advising and admissions products, we help more than 12 million students around the globe identify their strengths, explore careers, create academic plans, and find the right college match. We partner with more than 10,000 schools, colleges, and universities to better prepare students for success. About AASA AASA, The School Superintendents Association, founded in 1865, is the professional organization for more than 13,000 educational leaders in the United States and throughout the world. AASA’s mission is to support and develop effective school system leaders who are dedicated to the highest quality public education for all children. For more information, visit www.aasa.org. About CGI AMERICA The Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), an initiative of the Clinton Foundation, convenes global leaders to create and implement solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges. Established in June 2011 by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Global Initiative America (CGI America) addresses economic recovery in the United States. CGI America brings together leaders in business, government, and civil society to generate and implement commitments to create jobs, stimulate economic growth, foster innovation, and support workforce development in the United States. Since its first meeting, CGI America participants have made more than 500 commitments, which have improved the lives of nearly 2.4 million people. CGI also convenes an Annual Meeting, which brings together global leaders to take action and create positive social change, CGI University (CGI U), which brings together undergraduate and graduate students to address pressing challenges in their community or around the world, and, this year, CGI will also convene CGI Middle East & Africa, which will bring together leaders across sectors to take action on pressing social, economic, and environmental challenges. For more information, visit clintonglobalinitiative.org. About Hobsons Hobsons is the world’s leader in connecting learning to life. Through our unique advising and admissions products, we help more than 12 million students around the globe identify their strengths, explore careers, create academic plans, and find the right college match. We partner with more than 10,000 schools, colleges, and universities to better prepare students for success. For more information, visit www.hobsons.com. About the Starfish Enterprise Success Platform The patented Starfish® Enterprise Success Platform™ by Hobsons helps hundreds of colleges and universities efficiently scale their student success programs so that more students can make informed academic and life choices to achieve their academic and life goals and finish what they start. Hobsons’ Starfish platform supports more than 4.5 million students each term. The Starfish platform identifies at-risk students in real time, pinpoints areas of concern, connects students with valuable services, and helps assess which services and interventions will keep students on track. For more information, visit www.starfishsolutions.com.