As part of a national initiative sponsored by ACT’s Center for Equity in Learning, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) has partnered with the American College Application Campaign (ACAC) to host the annual Pennsylvania College Application Campaign throughout the months of November and December of 2019.

The purpose of the Pennsylvania College Application Campaign is to increase the number of first-generation and underrepresented students pursuing a postsecondary education by assisting high school seniors and adults navigate the college admissions process, ensuring each participating individual submits at least one college application.

This year’s campaign will engage the Commonwealth’s libraries in the prospect of reaching new audiences that have not been easily identified or been welcomed to the process of finding the right path toward postsecondary and higher education. This is also an opportunity to assist public librarians more fully understand the landscape of guiding and informing adult learners and high school students who may need support in the pursuit of their educational goals.

This effort will expand the partnerships among libraries, institutions of higher learning, community education, and secondary education to take a holistic approach to meet the attainment goal set by the State Board of Education in 2018 to have 60 percent of our adults ages 25-64 hold a postsecondary credential by 2025.

Training Opportunities

ACAC regularly hosts webinars for anyone interested in learning more about the college application campaign. Click the link below to view their upcoming and past webinars:

            https://equityinlearning.act.org/event-type/webinars/

PDE will be hosting an in-person training on September 4, 2019, at 1:00 p.m. at the PA Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN) office located at 6340 Flank Drive, Harrisburg, PA.  ACAC staff will be available to provide a “train the trainer” program for individuals interested in leading a campaign at their school or library.  The training will be livestreamed to two remote locations.

Western Region:

PATTAN-Pittsburgh

3190 William Pitt Way

Pittsburgh, PA 15238

(Pre-registration is required. Please email RA-highereducation@pa.gov to register.)

Eastern Region:

Berks County Library System HQ

1040 Berks Road

Leesport, PA 19533

Contact State Coordinator Michael Dotts, Higher Education Associate at the Pennsylvania Department of Education, (RA-highereducation@pa.gov) with any questions.