
Blue Water College Access Network
St. Clair County's College Resource | June 2022
College Knowledge for EVERYONE
Welcome to your resource for planning, preparing, and going to college after high school. Blue Water College Access Network is here to provide information and opportunities that will ensure you graduate confidently prepared, with plans for career and college beyond high school. Whether you choose to go on to earn a bachelor's degree, an associate degree, or an industry credential, we can help you get there!
Each month, we will publish a newsletter to keep you on track, informed, and engaged in college activities provided by organizations across the county. To subscribe to the newsletter, submit your email address using this form. Past editions of the newsletter can be found at bwcan.org. Contact Nick Beaudry with any questions you might have at beaudry.nick@sccresa.org.
How to College Crash Course Playlist
From the Study Hall Program:
Dr. Erica Brozovsky (from PBS's Otherwords) hosts and breaks down how to apply for, succeed at, and graduate from college. We hope you'll join us for this journey and check out our all new Study Hall Channel where you can watch Fast Guides about college majors and even more series. Get a list of upcoming episodes for Fast Guides and How to College at https://gostudyhall.com/
News
333 TEC Students Earn Certification
New SC4, Wayne State partnership helps future engineers save time and money
A new partnership between St. Clair County Community College (SC4) and Wayne State University will provide SC4 students with a seamless transfer pathway to Wayne State’s College of Engineering, strengthening the commitment of both institutions to prepare future leaders and innovators in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) for high tech, high skilled jobs.
Students interested in earning a bachelor’s degree from Wayne State in the following programs can now earn the majority of their core engineering courses as well as the bulk of their general education courses at SC4 before transferring on to Wayne State, where they must complete a minimum of 30 credits toward their degree.
Counselor Corner
Careers in STEM Summer Workshop
NAPE’s (National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity) Explore STEM Careers provides a framework with lesson plans and activities to help counselors, teachers, and administrators to educate and inspire every student to consider a career in STEM. Most “careers of tomorrow” have a STEM/STEAM component, yet too few of our students think STEM is for them. This interactive session is designed to empower educators with effective messaging to communicate to a diverse group of students the breadth of opportunities and pathways in STEM careers and to introduce tools for students to explore STEM-related careers. Check out the toolkit here.
Participants will receive a $200 stipend.
Sign up here to receive information directly when registration becomes available.
MACAC 2022 School Counselor Summit
Join secondary counseling professionals from all over the state on August 4th at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan to discuss trends in our field and brainstorm creative ideas together!
Sessions:
- DEI Session: Supporting Students of Diverse Gender Identities in a Secondary School Landscape
- Financial Aid Session: Emily Hurtado-Arboleda, MI Student Aid
- Breakout Discussions
- Counselor Case Study: Ideas that Worked
- Ask the College Rep: Admission Counselor Panel
- Grand Valley State University College Tour (Optional)
Date & Time: Thursday, August 4, 2022, 8:30 AM until 3:30 PM
Location: Russel H. Kirkhof Center, 1 Campus Drive, Allendale, MI 49401
Cost: $25
School Counselor Professional Development
In order to better meet the needs of Michigan's hard-working school counselors, MCAN is proud to announce some big changes to our school counselor professional development offerings. We believe school counselors are uniquely poised to lead the charge in ensuring students are socially, academically, logistically, and financially prepared for postsecondary education. With that in mind, we have provided college access-focused professional development for school counselors since 2013.
This fall, we will continue to offer our established Foundations of Equity in College Advising, co-hosted by MCAN and the Center for Equity and Postsecondary Attainment at San Diego State University. Additionally, we're introducing College and Career Advising Mini-courses, which are designed for school counselors who want to engage in college access work but who can't commit to a rigorous, semester-long course.
Registrants will need to decide between enrolling in the Foundations course OR the mini-courses. Check out the descriptions below to see which option would be the best fit for your schedule and interests.
Foundations of Equity in College Advising
The Foundations of Equity in College Advising course is designed for school counselors, college and career advisers, and other educators. In this course, participants will build upon their knowledge of equity-centered counseling and advising practices in their efforts to support student postsecondary exploration, planning, enrollment, and persistence. The fall 2022 Foundations of Equity in College Advising course will run Aug. 22–Dec. 12.
The Foundations of Equity in College Advising course is designed as a graduate-level course. Registrants should anticipate spending a total of 30 hours on this course over the span of the semester, which is reflected in the awarding of SCECHs. Five hours will be spent in the monthly meetings, and the remaining 25 hours will be spent doing independent, online coursework between meetings. This breaks down to about six hours a month.
College and Career Advising Mini-courses
College and Career Advising Mini-courses are a new training format MCAN is offering beginning fall 2022. From Exploring Postsecondary Match and Fit to Career Development for the 21st Century Workforce and The FAFSA Step by Step, each course allows participants to join a group of peers for online discussions, see best practices in action, gain knowledge, and access and create resources to incorporate immediately.
There will be two mini-courses offered per month. Each mini-course is four weeks long with a mandatory live virtual meeting every week. DO NOT register for a course if you will not be able to attend on the scheduled day and time. Each class is made up of four sessions with an estimated total workload of 16 hours, which is reflected in the awarding of SCECHs. Individual course details, including topic, meeting times, and SCECHs, are available at the link below.
Registration and Course Cost
These courses are open to all school counselors, college and career advisers, and educators. Registrants who secure a seat in any of our PD opportunities will receive a scholarship to access the course at no cost.
Questions?
Please contact Kiersten Nolan, strategy assistant for high school innovation, with questions about any of the professional development courses.
College Bound Michigan Registration Now Open
Registration is now open for the 2022-23 cycle of College Bound Michigan, MCAN's suite of initiatives designed to build and support college-going cultures in high schools and their surrounding communities. This program helps school counselors, college advisers, and other educators create systems and practices that connect all students with the opportunity for formal education beyond high school, including postsecondary certificates and academic degrees.
CBMI brings together all of the statewide initiatives — Michigan College Month, College Cash Campaign, and College Decision Day — into one campaign to help bring Michigan closer to Sixty by 30. Click the register button below to learn more and sign up. Current CBMI sites, be sure to register to ensure you are included as a host site for next year! Registration will remain open through the fall, but signing up now ensures timely delivery of resources and takes something off your summer/fall to-do list.
Why should my school sign up?
As a CBMI Host Site, you will have access to:
- Exclusive grant opportunities
- Promotional materials
- Student-facing, grab-and-go resources
- Counselor/adviser-facing toolkits and implementation guides
- Professional development opportunities
Questions?
Contact Kiersten Nolan, MCAN’s strategy assistant for high school innovation, with any questions about CBMI eligibility or programming at 517-316-1713 or kiersten@micollegeaccess.org.
Contact Nick Beaudry, Supervisor of Career and College Programs, St. Clair County RESA
Email: beaudry.nick@sccresa.org
Website: bwcan.org
Location: 499 Range Road, Marysville, MI, USA
Phone: 810.455.4261
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlueWaterCAN/
Twitter: @BlueWaterCAN