North Central College joins Coalition for Access, Affordability, and Success

Finding the right college is a major life decision for students. North Central College has taken a significant step in supporting students by joining the Coalition for Access, Affordability, and Success – a partnership that works to improve the college application process.

“North Central has a long history of providing access to a high-quality, affordable education that aligns well with the principles and values of the Coalition,” said Martin Sauer, the College’s vice president for enrollment management and athletics. “We are excited to join with over 100 other colleges and universities in further supporting students on their path toward academic and career success.”

The Coalition provides a single, centralized toolkit for students to organize, build and refine their applications to higher education institutions. Initially the Coalition’s membership was restrictive and consisted of only 95 of the most selective public and private colleges and universities in the United States, said Sauer.

This past fall, the Coalition’s membership voted to expand access for students through an enhanced membership criteria. The criteria is designed to better recognize colleges that provide substantial support to low income and underrepresented students, offer responsible student financial aid and demonstrate a commitment to student graduation.

Soon after learning of the Coalition’s expansion, Sauer said North Central College applied and was approved to join the Coalition in January 2017.

“Expanding our membership creates the potential for outreach efforts to have a broader impact. We are thrilled to be able to collaborate with North Central College to improve college access,” said Annie Reznik, executive director of the Coalition for Access, Affordability, and Success.

The Coalition’s mobile-friendly application includes a suite of online college planning tools – completely free of charge for all high school students – which supports collaborative early engagement outreach efforts by member colleges.

The Coalition was founded on principal values, beliefs and extensive research to improve the college application process for all students. Information about the Coalition and list of members is available at coalitionforcollegeaccess.org.