On August 27, 2019, Noe Ortega, Deputy Secretary of the Office of Postsecondary and Higher Education, announced via PennLink that the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) has partnered with the American College Application Campaign (ACAC) to host the annual Pennsylvania College Application Campaign throughout the months of November and December of 2019. The aim of the campaign is to increase the number of first-generation and underrepresented students pursuing a postsecondary education by assisting high school seniors and adults navigate the college admissions process, ensuring each participating individual submits at least one college application.

The campaign will expand the partnerships among libraries, institutions of higher learning, community education, and secondary education to take a holistic approach to meet the attainment goal set by the State Board of Education in 2018 to have 60 percent of our adults ages 25-64 hold a postsecondary credential by 2025.

 The ACAC regularly hosts webinars for anyone interested in learning more about the college application campaign. Click here to view their upcoming and past webinars:

PDE will be hosting an in-person training on September 4, 2019, at 1:00 p.m. at the PA Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN) office located at 6340 Flank Drive, Harrisburg, PA.  ACAC staff will be available to provide a “train the trainer” program for individuals interested in leading a campaign at their school or library.  The training will also be livestreamed to two remote locations, which are: PATTAN-Pittsburgh and the Berks County Library System HQ. Email [email protected] to register. Contact State Coordinator Michael Dotts, Higher Education Associate at the Pennsylvania Department of Education, ([email protected]) with any questions.