Advocacy
Fighting For Students and Their Future Success
Decisions about higher education should be linked to students’ interests, passions and aptitudes. Higher education is far too expensive to be used as a time of discovery. Unfortunately, with nearly forty percent of kids going on to higher education but failing to complete in six years, it is clear that many are making uninformed choices about their higher education journey, and are mired in debt as a result. American Student Assistance® (ASA) believes there is an opportunity to change that.
In our role as an advocate for students, ASA® is using its resources to evolve public opinion around higher education pathways. We believe that this approach will increase student success by better informing students of the choices in front of them, and help students avoid higher education missteps before they occur.
Read our blog about ASA’s History as an Advocate for Students.
For more information, contact Julie Lammers, VP Government Relations and Advocacy, at jryder@asa.org.
Our Advocacy Approach
ASA is supporting existing programs, changing public opinion and providing research or policy support to:
- Encourage higher education and career exploration starting as early as middle schools
- Embrace the value of community colleges, credentials, and other certificate programs
- Support efforts to gain early exposure to higher education through dual enrollment and other early college programs
- Support high-quality career and technical education (CTE) at all levels
- Improve the counseling and support system in middle school, high school, and college to help kids navigate their own personal path
- Expand experiential education opportunities so that students can test, try and gain experience before committing to a higher education and career path
Resources
Trade Secrets: How to Navigate Apprenticeships in Massachusetts
This eBook was created as a resource for school counselors and parents to help kids navigate the process of obtaining an apprenticeship in MA.
Webinar: Planned for Feb 2019
Reimagining Career Pathways: Podcast with EdTech Times
In 2018, ASA and EdTech Times, a digital media company sharing untold stories from the intersection of education, technology, innovation, and work, partnered to produce a six-part podcast series that explored how we as a society can rethink traditional education pathways to connect students today with the in-demand skills of the future at an early age.
The series, which was released in October and November 2018, featured 20-25-minute interviews with policymakers, researchers and education leaders from the K-12, higher education and workforce sectors.
How Mentoring Helps Students Make Successful Postsecondary Choices
Exploring Earlier: Helping Students Discover Education and Career Opportunities at a Younger Age
Massachusetts Workforce Skills Cabinet: Rosalin Acosta, Secretary, Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, James Peyser, Secretary, Executive Office of Education, Jay Ash, Secretary, Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development
“ASA’s new mission directly supports the work we are doing through the Workforce Skills Cabinet to better align education and training systems to job growth and expansion in Massachusetts. Helping more kids make informed education and career decisions is at the heart of this work. We look forward to working with ASA to execute on their mission.”
