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Duke College Advising Corps Expands to Help Disadvantaged Youth in N.C.

Program places recent Duke graduates in selected high schools

Part of the Duke in North Carolina Series

The Duke College Advising Corps (CAC), which helps disadvantaged North Carolina high school students pursue college, is expanding.The program will now serve high schools in Sampson and Johnston counties, as well as expand the number of advisers in Durham, Lee and Wake county high schools. The corps aims to help low-income, first-generation and under-represented students attend college by placing recent Duke graduates in selected high schools. For 2015-2016, 16 advisers will serve 16 high schools in seven counties.The CAC program emphasizes a near-peer model so advisers are close in age to the students they serve. Duke advisers work with the entire high school -- guidance staff, principals, teachers and other stakeholders -- rather than a cohort of particular students to foster a school-wide, college-attending culture. “We are very excited to have a full cohort of college advisers in the field,” said Eric Mlyn, assistant vice-provost of civic engagement at Duke. “Now entering its second academic year at Duke, the College Advising Corps has become an essential part of our civic engagement landscape -- impacting not only the high school students served but also the advisers themselves as they live, work and learn in communities seeking better college access for their youth.” Many disadvantaged students who are well qualified to attend a college or university do not consider enrolling, and others who say they plan to apply never do, according to a 2013 study in Social Science Quarterly. The national student-to-guidance-counselor ratio of 467:1 means the average student spends 20 minutes per year talking to his or her counselor. Moreover, low-income and first-generation students are particularly underserved, with many never seeing a college adviser. “Duke CAC partnership is one of the best opportunities that will directly influence the educational advancement of all students in our four comprehensive high schools,” said Col. Tommy M. Macon, assistant superintendent for academics and student services with Sampson County Schools. “We are very fortunate to have this opportunity in this time of scarce resources. This partnership, at no cost to the school system, will without a doubt benefit students, teachers and parents,” Macon said. “Through this partnership, our students will receive more one-on-one assistance and support to plan and prepare for their high school careers and post-secondary prospects.”Macon added that the program “gives all students the opportunity to advance their educational hopes and dreams through the rich counseling and career planning afforded all students on a regular basis.”Launched in 2014, the Duke College Advising Corps is a university chapter of the national College Advising Corps. The program, based in the Office of the Assistant Vice-Provost at Duke, is funded by the John M. Belk Family Foundation and the Duke Endowment.