YOUR
COLLEGE CONNECTION FEBRUARY 2020
CAI programs designed for students ages 5–19 Cambridge Advanced International traces its start to 1858, when the University of Cambridge began offering the Cambridge Assessments in England.
IN THIS ISSUE
2 - Take verification seriously 2 - State student aid programs 3 - Federal student aid programs 3 - Protect yourself online 4 - Outreach report available 4 - KHEAA vloggers add posts 5 - STEM camp application 5 - Scholarship Spotlight 6 - History Day judges needed 6 - State’s online testing expanded 7 - KHEAA Outreach seeking feedback 7 - State waives board training
For help with financial aid and admissions, visit www.kheaa.com. To stay connected, text Outreach to 800.926.8926.
In 1998 the university created the Cambridge Assessment International Program.
In our newsletters, we often mention AP, IB and CAI. We looked at AP last month. This month we’ll discuss CAI.
CAI offers programs at four levels: primary (ages 5–11), lower secondary (11–14), upper secondary (14–16) and advanced (16–19). The advanced program offers more than 50 courses in subjects ranging from accounting to computer science to foreign languages and literatures. For Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship purposes, grades in CAI courses are weighted on a 5-point scale, meaning they can increase a student’s overall GPA. As with AP and IB, students who have qualified for free or reducedprice lunches during any year of high school can also earn KEES bonus awards for doing well on CAI exams. The exams earn letter grades rather than numerical scores. Students earn bonus awards of $200 for an “e” grade; $250 for a “c” or “d”; and $300 for “a*,” “a” or “b” grades. Visit https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/ for more information.
2 Students should take verification seriously The federal government requires many students who submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to verify the information included on the FAFSA. The students requiring verification are chosen by the U.S. Department of Education. Used to apply for most federal and many state student aid programs, the FAFSA asks detailed questions about the income and financial resources of students. The parents of dependent students must also provide that information. Students are considered dependent if they are undergraduates under 24 years old, not married, have no dependents, are not veterans, or were not orphans or wards of the court until age 19. The college or an agency working with the school will let students know if their information is being verified. Students and parents need to take this process seriously. Students chosen for verification cannot receive their financial aid until they complete the verification process. As soon as they are contacted, they should provide any information that is required. Putting it off will only lead to frustration if the process isn’t finished when classes are ready to start. If students who have been asked for verification decide not to attend a college, they should let the college know so it will stop requesting information.
KHEAA helps Kentuckians pay for higher education Kentuckians seeking help to pay for college or technical training can take advantage of student aid programs administered by KHEAA. Those programs include the: • Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship. KEES lets high school students earn money by getting good grades in school and doing well on the ACT or SAT. • College Access Program Grant. CAP awards help financially needy students pay for classes at Kentucky’s public and private two- and four-year colleges. • Kentucky Tuition Grant. Students enrolled full time in associate’s and bachelor’s degree programs at the state’s private colleges may be eligible for a KTG award. • Dual Credit Scholarship. This scholarship is available to high school and home school students who take dual credit classes at a participating college or university. • Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship. The WRKS helps Kentuckians earn a certificate, diploma or associate’s degree in high-demand workforce fields. High school students can use it for dual credit classes in technical fields. To learn more, visit www.kheaa.com and look for “KHEAA-Administered Programs” under the “Paying for College” tab. Many KHEAA programs are funded by Kentucky Lottery proceeds.
Federal student aid helps pay college costs The federal government offers many financial aid programs to help students and families pay for college. This brief summary describes the more common federal grant and loan programs. Grants generally do not have to be repaid, but loans do. • Federal Pell Grant: Pell Grants provide up to $6,195 per year for undergraduates with financial need. That amount is expected to increase for the 2020–21 school year. • Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant: These grants provide up to $4,000 per year for undergraduate students who have exceptional financial need. • Federal Direct Loan: These loans are available to undergraduate, graduate and professional students. The amount students can borrow depends on their year in school. • Federal PLUS Loan: Parents of dependent undergraduate students may qualify for PLUS Loans, depending on the parents’ credit ratings. The amount available depends on how much other financial aid the student receives. Graduate and professional students may apply for PLUS Loans if they have exhausted their Direct Loan eligibility. The FAFSA is used to apply for all of these programs. The PLUS Loan requires a separate application.
Online security protects you from cyber thieves The theft of credit and debit card numbers should make everyone, including students, more careful about protecting their money from cyber thieves. The following measures can help. Never provide your Social Security, bank account or credit card number in response to a phone call, text or email. If you get a text or email from a bank or company, don’t click on any link in the message. It may lead you to a fake site run by thieves hoping you’ll enter personal information, or it may install spyware or malware on your phone or computer. Instead, sign in through the website you normally use when you do business with that firm. Never provide bank, credit card or other sensitive data on a website that doesn’t explain how your information will be protected, including encryption to transmit and store data safely. When you use your ATM or debit card, make sure no one can see your PIN. Check ATMs for obvious signs of tampering or for a skimming device. Install a free or low-cost firewall to stop intruders from gaining remote access to your devices. Download and update security patches offered by your system and software vendors to correct weaknesses that could be exploited.
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4 FY2019 Outreach report available in print, online
KHEAA high school, college vloggers advising students
The FY2019 KHEAA Outreach Annual Report is now available in print and online. The number of print copies is limited, however.
KHEAA vlogger Shelby Newman gives advice about how high school seniors can make the most of their last semester of school.
The report shows that KHEAA has had a positive impact on students when it comes to considering higher education. Surveys conducted by regional outreach counselors showed that students were more likely to say they were considering higher education after a KHEAA presentation than before the presentation. The number of students who said after the presentation that they would still not consider post-high school education dropped by nearly 30 percent.
Newman, a senior at Louisville Valley High School, posted her latest vlog on YouTube earlier this month. Among her tips: • Advice about narrowing down your list of schools if you haven’t already decided, • Having a Plan B in case your first school choice doesn’t come through, • Not letting senioritis put a dent in your GPA, and • Continuing to do scholarship searches. She recommends using Fastweb (www.fastweb.com).
KHEAA Outreach staff conducted more than 1,450 FAFSA workshops during FY2019. Kentucky ranked No. 1 in the nation for FAFSA completion between Oct. 1 and mid-November, the peak FAFSA season. Through March, the state was still in the top ten. The Kentucky College Coach Program places nearpeer college coaches in high schools across the state. KHEAA participates in the program by hiring coaches for 30 high schools. Two coaches, Emily Bowman at Lynn Camp High and Kody Ruark at Nicholas County High, received Governor’s Service Awards for their work. KHEAA also sponsors the Kentucky College Application Campaign, which guides high school seniors through the college admissions process. More than 130 high schools participated in FY2019, reaching more than 26,000 seniors. The results of surveys showed that 76 percent of the respondents thought the campaign had increased the likelihood that they would pursue education after high school. For a print copy, please email outreach@kheaa.com. You can find the online version on www.kheaa.com.
Cortney Belt, a student at the University of Louisville, is scheduled to post a vlog later this month about being a freshman in college.
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Scholarship Spotlight Kentucky Association of Career and Technical Education/Special Needs Personnel Stratton/Tipton Scholarship Eligibility: Must be a graduating high school senior or nontraditional college student; meet special needs criteria; have at least a 2.5 cumulative GPA or a 2.5 GPA from the previous semester of coursework at a Kentucky college or university; be a Kentucky resident and attend a Kentucky high school or Kentucky college or university; plan to pursue a certificate, diploma, associate’s degree or bachelor’s degree in a career and technical education field from any Kentucky college or university; and have completed all admission requirements to the program for which student is applying. In addition, the applicant must submit an official transcript with counselor’s verification (high school senior) or an official transcript with the registrar’s verification (currently enrolled nontraditional college student); 1 letter of reference; and a 1-page, typed and double-spaced summary of occupational objective, chosen field of study in career and technical education, extracurricular activities and community service. If possible, the recipient should attend the KACTE summer conference to receive the award. Award: $500; $250 each semester Number: 1 to a high school senior, 1 to a nontraditional or college student Deadline: April 30 Contact: Dr. Vanessa Baker Ruda, Postsecondary Transitions Specialist, Center for College and Career Readiness, Jessamine Career and Technology Center, 881 Wilmore Road, Nicholasville, KY 40356; 859.881.8324; vanessa.ruda@jessamine.kyschools.us
Feb. 28 is deadline to apply for summer STEM program The deadline to apply for the Appalachian Regional Commission’s Summer STEM Program is Feb. 28. The program is open to middle school students, high school students and high school teachers who live in the Appalachian region. Up to 26 high school students, 26 middle school students and 26 teachers will be chosen. The exact number will depend on the available funding. High school and middle school students participate in science, math and computer science technology group research projects, working with award-winning scientists. Teachers work with STEM practitioners to develop STEM-related curricula. Teachers and high school students will attend a two-week camp from July 5 through July 17. Middle school students will attend a one-week program from July 11 through July 17. Both programs will be held in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Programs include lab time at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Students will receive transportation, room and board, as well as all expenses related to lab work and field trips. Teachers will receive the same package, plus a $1,000 stipend. Visit www.arc.gov/summerSTEM for more details. The program is also sponsored by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Oak Ridge Associated Universities.
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6 Elementary, middle schools will begin online testing By Jacob Perkins
Take a deep breath and stay focused.
Judges needed for National History Day By Mike Marsee
The Kentucky Historical Society needs judges for its National History Day contests. Regional contests will take place March 13–28 across the state. The state contest will be April 25 in Lexington.
That’s the biggest piece of advice that Pulaski County Chief Academic Officer Teresa Nicholas can give to the schools that will begin online testing later this school year. High schools began administering the state K-PREP tests online in the 2018–2019 school year. Elementary and middle schools are joining them this spring.
National History Day asks students to develop historic research projects around a given theme. Individual students or teams can present their research as an exhibit, website, documentary, performance or paper.
From Feb. 24 through March 6, the Kentucky Department of Education will conduct field tests to assess newly adopted content area standards. Grades 3–8 and grade 10 will test reading and math. Grades 5, 8 and 11 will be tested in editing and mechanics and in on-demand writing.
Judges review the projects and provide feedback to students.
The field test items will be part of the operational assessments in spring 2021.
No experience is needed. KHS will provide a brief orientation the morning of the contest, along with breakfast and lunch. Judging takes about half a day.
Pulaski County had concerns before the switch, but the transition went smoothly.
The schedule is: • March 13, Southeast Community and Technical College, Cumberland • March 14, University of Louisville • March 21, Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond • March 27, Murray State University, Paducah Campus • March 28, Morehead State University • April 25, University of Kentucky, Lexington Visit the National History Day site to register. For more information about National History Day, email Claire Gwaltney at claire.gwaltney@ky.gov or visit the KHS website.
“Pulaski County had a good experience switching from paper to online testing,” Nicholas said. “School personnel were somewhat nervous but anxious to see how things would go. The district ensured that technicians were available at each testing location for the first test session. The technicians were not required, but just having the technical person available seemed to alleviate much of the anxiety.” The field test will be administered online via the TestNav application. Students will log into TestNav to respond to multiple choice and constructed response questions. The reading, mathematics and editing and mechanics field tests should take no longer than 60 minutes, while the writing on-demand may take up to 90 minutes.
7 State waives charter school training for 16 local boards The state will give waivers to school boards that want to delay providing 12 hours of charter school authorizer training until they receive a charter school application. The Kentucky Board of Education made that decision at its Feb. 4 meeting.
KHEAA seeking feedback about its outreach services KHEAA is seeking feedback from students and parents about the outreach services we provide.
Anyone interested in providing suggestions and comments can click on one of the links below to do so: • Parents, https://www.surveymonkey.com/ r/9PW8F2G • Students, https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ GMMNN5D The survey takes only a few minutes to complete. Thank you for your help.
Eight school districts — Bell, Carroll, Graves, Henry, Knott, Owsley, Pulaski and Trimble — asked the previous board in December for the waiver, but the board didn’t grant the request. The current board granted waivers to those districts and eight more districts — Christian, Daviess, Harlan, Hopkins, Leslie, Mayfield, Simpson and Somerset— that came for the February meeting. The waiver is good until June 30, 2021. However, if a district receives an application to open a charter school, the board members must receive the training within 10 days of receiving the application. The board held first reading on an amendment to state law to clarify that training is not required until someone applies to open a charter school.
ACT National Test Dates Test Date
Registration Deadline
Scores Available
April 4, 2020
February 28, 2020
April 14, 2020
June 13, 2020
May 8, 2020
June 23, 2020
July 18, 2020
June 19, 2020
July 28, 2020
SAT National Test Dates May 2, 2020
April 3, 2020
May 15, 2020
June 6, 2020
May 8, 2020
July 15, 2020