April 2025 IllinoisCAN Newsletter April 2025 Welcome to IllinoisCAN's monthly newsletter. The mission of IllinoisCAN is to improve postsecondary access and success for low-income and first-generation college students in Illinois. IllinoisCAN builds the capacity and effectiveness of college access organizations to help students reach their goals. IllinoisCAN monthly newsletters are intended to be for us and by us – professionals around the state working to improve college access. In this issue:
ISAC is pleased to continue sponsorship of the Family Action Network (FAN) events, which are always free and open to the public. FAN curates a high-quality speakers series presenting fresh ideas that elevate minds and expand hearts to help create an informed and compassionate community. Upcoming events sponsored by ISAC include:
Youth Mental Health First Aid Certification Opportunity IllinoisCAN is pleased to offer this professional development opportunity to its members on Monday, May 12th, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (CT). The training will be conducted virtually by Dr. DeAnna Harris-McKoy of the College of Health and Human Sciences at Northern Illinois University, and includes a 30-minute lunch break. There is no fee for the training and certification. Space is limited to 30 participants. Register by noon on Friday, April 25th. Reserve your spot today! ISAC's Spring PaCE Framework Trainings Registration is open for ISAC's in-person spring Illinois Postsecondary and Career Expectations (PaCE) Framework trainings. These trainings are free and open to middle school and high school counselors, administrators, college and career staff, and others who support students to be college and career ready.
ISAC's First Up Podcast ISAC's First-Gen oriented podcast series "First Up" has launched its second season! First Up offers informative conversation, advice, and stories about the challenges – and triumphs – that many first-generation college students and their families experience. Join our hosts and guests as they discuss all the things they wish they knew before, during, and after college. Let your college-bound students know that Season 1 and Season 2 episodes can be found at isacfirstgen.podbean.com. Learn more about ISAC's First Generation Scholars Network and direct any questions to ISAC.FirstGen@illinois.gov. Navigating Progress: College and Career Readiness in 2024 "The Illinois Report Card data released last fall and postsecondary enrollment data released earlier this year provide reasons for hope and highlight areas of improvement for Illinois. While high school graduation and 9th grade on track rates continue to rebound, postsecondary enrollment and remediation rates are seeing more marginal improvement. More and better analysis is needed to assess whether programs in K-12 are leading students to be more prepared for postsecondary opportunities and careers. "A closer examination of trends reveals that historically marginalized groups have experienced sharper setbacks and mixed recovery trajectories after the pandemic." Education Systems Center highlights important metrics and patterns crucial to the success of all students. NCAN Updates
"Online higher education is projected to pass an impressive if little-noticed milestone this year: For the first time, more American college students will be learning entirely online than will be learning 100 percent in person. "Yet 83 percent of online programs in higher education cost students as much as or more than the in-person versions, an annual survey of campus chief online learning officers finds. "In addition to using the income from their online divisions to help pay for the other things they do, universities say they have had to pay more than they anticipated on advising and support for online students, who get worse results, on average, than their in-person counterparts." This Hechinger Report article provides insight into the contributing factors of the cost of online learning. The Class – A PBS Docuseries The Class is a new 6-part series on PBS following a group of high school seniors on their college-going journey during the pandemic. "From Tony- and Grammy-winning Executive Producer Daveed Diggs (Blindspotting, Snowpiercer, Hamilton) and award-winning filmmakers Jaye and Adam Fenderson (First Generation, Unlikely), this dramatic six-part series, filmed over the course of the 2020-2021 school year, captures an unprecedented moment in time and the universal stories of hope, resolve, strength and success found in the most unexpected places." Learn more about The Class and view the episodes on PBS. Supporting Students to and Through College: What Does the Evidence Say? This report by The Brookings Institute provides a comprehensive analysis of evidence from over two decades of research on interventions designed to increase college access and completion. Drawing on rigorous evaluations of diverse programs and approaches, it examines what is effective to help students successfully navigate the path to and through college. Read the key findings and full report on how post-secondary institutions, college access and success organizations, and policymakers can support students to and through college. Do you have events, news, requests, or resources to share with college access colleagues? IllinoisCAN monthly newsletters are intended to be for us and by us – professionals around the state working to move college access forward. For inclusion in the next newsletter, send content by April 21st to ISAC.IllinoisCAN@illinois.gov. Review Newsletter Submission Guidelines at https://illinoiscan.org/resources/Newsletters/index.html. Find us on Facebook:
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