Today, Graduate NYC! along with its partners the NYC DOE, CUNY and Goddard Riverside’s Options Center, unveiled NYC College Line, a new online resource for college-bound students in New York City. This interactive web tool helps New Yorkers prepare for, get in to and complete college by connecting them to local programs as well as useful web-based resources. This free, online community – available at NYCCollegeLine.org – will also feature an “ask the adviser” tool, which allows students to pose specific questions to trained counselors who will respond within 48 hours. The site will be staffed by advisers who have completed Goddard Riverside’s Options Institute Foundation & Framework of College Access Counseling Certificate Course.
“The launch of NYCCollegeLine.org is a major testament to the evolution of our Options program and college access as a whole. When Options was founded in the mid 1980’s, we were considered cutting edge for merely having computers,” said Lily Owen, director of the Options Center. “Now, nearly 30 years later, to collaborate on an innovative website that connects us to hundreds of thousands of students around the city is remarkable, and we’re proud to be a key partner in this initiative.”
“We are thrilled to be partnering with Options, a national leader in college counseling and student support, the NYC Department of Education and the City University of New York to bring the vast experience and expertise of programs and people across the city together on NYC College Line, where it will be freely and immediately accessible to the students, parents, and advisors who need it,” said Lisa Castillo Richmond, director of Graduate NYC!
In addition to resources for students, NYCCollegeLine.org will also house a number of self-guided trainings, videos and tutorials for advisors and educators to ensure that these professionals have access to the most up-to-date resources to effectively support city students.
About Graduate NYC!
In August 2010, as part of their Postsecondary strategy, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation awarded New York City $3 million over three years for the Graduate NYC! College Readiness and & Success initiative. This initiative brings together the resources of the Mayor’s Office, the NYC Department of Education, the City University of New York, several city agencies, and an extensive group of local community-based organizations, with the goal of “doubling the number” of CUNY graduates by 2020. The Mayor and the Chancellors have committed to significantly improving the educational outcomes of all New York City students. To accomplish this ambitious goal, Graduate NYC! leads policy change efforts and projects in the areas of skills proficiency, advisement & planning along the postsecondary continuum, data access to drive program improvements, academic readiness & curricular aliment, and supporting & scaling promising practices related to college completion. These efforts are the result of a shared belief that improving high school and college outcomes for all students is imperative to the city’s long term health and economic stability.