Professional Development Workshops

Hotpots, Hooks and Hidden Agendas

Peter Van Buskirk has designed programming that enhances the capacity of college access professionals to support/promote the college search and placement interests of their students. Central to this programming is the development of a contextual understanding of the process that positions them to better promote college awareness and support young people as they pursue their educational goals.

A flexible syllabus (see below) includes topics of interest to college access professionals that allows program planners to customize workshops for full or half-day participation. Participants develop a contextual understanding relative to the current college-going climate and are given tools that enable them to be more effective mentors and advisors. Informative, interactive. CEU credits are available to participants through Mercer County Community College (NJ).
Each session is 45-55 minutes. Audience size: 15-50

Professional Development Syllabus

Program Elements (45-55 minutes each):

Environmental Scan (What has changed in the college-going process and why?)

• Demographics (1980-2005)
• Changing assumptions in higher education
• The media becomes a player
• The impact of college rankings
• The Pyramid of Selectivity

Enrollment Management: Building New Communities

• The Enrollment Model
• The Admission Funnel
• The impact of Early Decision/Early Action programs
• The Range of Acceptability
• The role of the Wait List in building the class
• The Financial Aid Matrix 

The Road to College

• Creating a college-going culture
• Making the case for college
• Building an action plan for college

Helping Students Find the Best College Fit

• Tactics for helping students establish priorities
• Hierarchy of Needs
• The best college is not…
• Five elements of the “best fit”
• Using Technology to Find Colleges that Fit Well

The Agenda: What Colleges Want

• Who Sets the Agenda?
• Bright, Motivated, High Achieving
• Diversity Defined
• The importance of cultivating and revealing “gifts”

The Hidden Agenda: Little Known Factors that Influence Decisions

• The impact of financial need on decision-making
• The importance of demonstrating interest
• The role of standardized tests in decision-making

You Decide: The Admission Committee in Action

• Class becomes the admission committee
• Evaluate four fictitious candidates
• Rate academic programs
• Analyze college essays
• Select a candidate (or two)

Effective Mentoring/Promoting Self-Advocacy

• Counsel students to make good choices in the classroom
• Help students tell their stories
• Communicating difficult issues
• Effective letter-writing

Building Productive Relationships with Colleges

• Marketing your school and its students
• Getting the most out of college representative’s visits
• What to look for on campus tours
• Professional meeting

Dollars and Sense

• Defining “need-based” financial aid
• Estimated Family Contribution: How is it determined and what is its relationship with demonstrated need?
• Exploring the differences between the various mechanisms employed by colleges to determine financial need (FAFSA, CSS Profile, professional judgment).
• Demonstrating how to compare financial aid awards

To learn more about these opportunities or find out how you can collaborate with Peter to create programming to meet your constituent needs, contact him at Peter@TheAdmissionGame.com.