SAT flashbacks? Good. That will get you in the right state of mind for what follows.

We had a chance to attend the “The Real Story about Going to College” in Richmond, VA on January 22, 2008. The panel discussion was hosted by America’s Student Loan Providers, College Parents of America, ECMC Foundation and The Educational Policy Institute. Some notes from the session:

• The ‘college access’ field is increasingly turning to a longer lifecycle model that starts with building college awareness and aspirations and continuing through students successfully completing their undergraduate degree (BA, Associates, etc.).

• As many of our clients have found, the traditional sense of college is going away. Financial obstacles combined with limited academic preparation are making two-year colleges a wonderful entry point for many students before they transition to four-year colleges. This model has the benefit of getting students up to speed academically at a much lower cost of attendance than four-year programs.

• Sending students to Harvard (fill in any top tier university you want here) is not the only measure of success for college access programs. More and more we see small, private, liberal arts colleges making huge strides in meeting the needs of underserved populations. Many are putting in place financial aid packages and academic/ personal support services to help underserved populations be successful in college. Additionally, underserved students are finding the personal attention these smaller institutions provide critical to their college success.

• The financial aid model set up by the Department of Education no longer accommodates nontraditional family environments that are very much a reality for underserved students trying to get to college. This includes students living on their own, living with relatives who are not legal guardians, students with undocumented parents (e.g. parents are illegal immigrants and their children were born and/ or raised in the US).

• Most public high schools simply do not have the resources to address many issues related to college access (thus resulting in the creation of organizations community-based college access programs like Cleveland Scholarship Programs, Inc.). Guidance counselors simply do not have the time, skills and knowledge to address complications related to FAFSA, college applications and college preparation.

As we work with a variety of clients focused on college success, including foundations, corporate grantmakers and schools, we continue to evolve our own measurement practice around college access and success.