Certificate Course

Foundation & Framework of College Access and Success Counseling

“The seminars were informative and interesting. It provided much-needed information in an easy and captivating manner.” – Participant

The Foundation Course for College Access Counseling is a professional development opportunity for working college counselors and advisers interested in developing or improving their skills and capacity to deliver high-quality college access and success counseling. It includes nine full days of training spread over a seven-month period. It provides not only extensive resources and detailed exploration of the relevant issues, but also time for discussion, practice and planning. It is designed to support college access programming at each participant’s organization or school. Facilitators are practitioners with extensive experience in college access and success, youth development and training.

Participants begin by attending seven core content seminars. These workshops cover supporting students to develop balanced lists of good-fit colleges; helping students present the strongest college applications possible; and effectively guiding students and families through the financial aid process. Each course participant will develop and submit a portfolio in which they demonstrate and apply their learning from core content seminars to a real student case. The last part of the course is the counseling series.

Three weekly sessions focus on the development of effective counseling skills and program approaches. Topics include incorporating a strong youth development foundation into college access counseling and programming; counseling skills for college access and success; and meeting common counseling challenges. Participants and their supervisors are invited to a culmination and evaluation meeting the week after the last session.

Course Requirements

  • Attend six core content seminars, and three counseling skills workshops, October-April.
  • Complete a portfolio.
  • Attend the four-day Counseling Series in May.

Course Cost

The maximum cost for the course is $1,150.

If you have previously attended one or more of the core content seminars, you will not have to repeat them, and your cost will be reduced accordingly.  

If you qualify for a discount based on your organization’s size and number of participants, your cost will be reduced further. Breakfast is included for all sessions.