FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: May 24, 2010

Contact:          Kimberly Gormley, Director of Marketing and Communications
                        Office: 614-947-3504, Mobile: 614-688-2953
                        E-mail: GormleyK@ohiocan.org  

OCAN and Great Lakes invest $350,000 to prepare kids for college

Columbus, Ohio – The Ohio College Access Network (OCAN) recently awarded $350,000 in grant funding from Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation to 15 college access programs across Ohio. Recipient programs work hard to change the lives of students by motivating, counseling and funding them to further their pursuits of earning college degrees.

These services are necessary because students often overestimate the cost of tuition, underestimate the available aid, and are not aware of the coursework that will properly prepare them for college admissions of specific careers. According to the National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC), low income and minority students are often less informed about such issues and are thus more likely to alter their postsecondary plans. OCAN members assist this population by situating advisors in schools where they provide career guidance, financial aid advising, need-based scholarships and many other services.

“OCAN is grateful that we have been able to assist community-based college access organizations for more than ten years with funding that has improved Ohio’s college-going rate.  Local access organizations have leveraged state and private dollars like those committed by Great Lakes in a remarkable way.  I appreciate all of their contributions,” added Dr. Reginald Wilkinson, OCAN President & CEO.

Recipients of Great Lakes College Access Investment Grant funding include: ACCESS Ashtabula County, A Call to College, Cincinnati Youth Collaborative, Clermont 20/20, Cleveland Scholarship Programs, Coshocton CARES, Opening Doors of Opportunity, I CAN Center of Excellence, I KNOW I CAN, Mahoning Valley College Access Program, OACHE, Pickaway HELPS, Stark Education Partnership, U-CAN, and Connect to Success at Washington State Community College (WSCC).

Specifically, Connect to Success at WSCC plans to enhance its college retention services and augment that work through AmeriCorps College Guides program. The program plans to provide college retention assistance to an additional 125 students annually. Moreover, The Stark Education Partnership and the Cleveland Scholarship Program both aim to expand their college advisory services by placing AmeriCorps Ohio College Guides in their schools.

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The Ohio College Access Network (OCAN) was founded in 1999, by KnowledgeWorks Foundation, in collaboration with the Ohio Board of Regents, the Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Business Roundtable.  OCAN works to establish college access programs across the state and is the first statewide coordinating body for college access programs in the nation. The goal of the organization is to help more Ohio students pursue postsecondary education through the work of local college access programs, which provide financial aid advising, last dollar grants, career guidance, and other services.  Currently, 36 college access programs serve nearly 300 of Ohio’s 612 school districts, and 17 private/parochial schools in 46 counties touching over 175,000 students annually.

Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation works with college access programs, schools, and governments to change lives for the better through higher education. Great Lakes supports these partners with financial, educational, and operational resources that help students and families pay for college and build brighter futures. Great Lakes employs more than 1,200 nationwide. For additional information, visit mygreatlakes.org.