For immediate use
Join Carolina College Advising Corps for a kickoff celebration
(Chapel Hill, N.C.— Sept. 22, 2015) – Media are invited to join the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Carolina College Advising Corps for a kickoff celebration on Wednesday, Sept, 23 from noon to 2 p.m. in The Great Room at Top of the Hill Restaurant in Chapel Hill.
WHAT: Stephen Farmer, Vice Provost for Enrollment and Undergraduate Admissions, will host a special event to kick off the work of the Carolina College Advising Corps, which will serve 64 high schools across North Carolina this year. Venessa Harrison, President of AT&T North Carolina, which helps support the Corps, will deliver the keynote address. Also speaking will be Yolanda Keith, Director of the Corps, and Sierra Lloyd, Corps Adviser, Lexington Senior High School and Thomasville High School. A number of local legislators (or their representatives) are also expected to attend.
Funded by grants and private gifts and based in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at UNC-Chapel Hill, the Carolina College Advising Corps aims to help low-income, first-generation and under-represented students attend college by placing UNC-Chapel Hill graduates in selected high schools across the state. The Carolina College Advising Corps is a constituent of the National Advising Corps.
WHEN: Wednesday, September 23, 2015 at noon – 2 p.m.
WHERE: The Great Room at Top of the Hill Restaurant, Chapel Hill, NC
WHY: Nationally, first-generation college students enroll in college at a lower rate—often because of difficulty navigating systems and lack of awareness about opportunities. Less than 50% of low-income students admitted to a post-secondary institution end up enrolling; and less than one in 12 graduate. Nearly sixty percent of North Carolina jobs will require a college degree by 2018.
HOW: Carolina College advisers foster a college-going culture by placing advisers who are close in age and circumstance to the students they serve. Advisers help students identify and apply to post-secondary programs that will best serve them, both academically and socially, to increase success and retention once they enroll. For 2015-16, 45 advisers are serving 64 high schools in 24 counties.
RESULTS: Last year, the Corps served 10,034 graduating seniors, helping over 6,000 students submit applications to 16,142 colleges. Students earned over $109 million dollars in federal aid and scholarships.
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About the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the nation’s first public university, is a global higher education leader known for innovative teaching, research and public service. A member of the prestigious Association of American Universities, Carolina regularly ranks as the best value for academic quality in U.S. public higher education. Now in its third century, the University offers 78 bachelor’s, 112 master’s, 68 doctorate and seven professional degree programs through 14 schools and the College of Arts and Sciences. Every day, faculty, staff and students shape their teaching, research and public service to meet North Carolina’s most pressing needs in every region and all 100 counties. Carolina’s more than 308,000 alumni live in all 50 states and 150 countries. More than 167,000 live in North Carolina.
Event contact: Ashley Memory, (919) 843-2531, amemory@admissions.unc.edu
Communications and Public Affairs contact: MC VanGraafeiland, (919) 962-7090, mc.vangraafeiland@unc.edu