Your college, and the Circle of Champions Network, partner together to provide this support system. In most cases, your instructor or counselor will help you get started, and may check in with you about your Circle and your academic progress.
You and your Champions will interact through the Circle of Champions platform, which is designed to facilitate guided communications, with the goal of helping you be as successful as possible in your academic journey!
Your role is to build your Circle, keep your profile updated, and communicate with your Champions regularly! Your Champions rely on the information you share in order to support you, so maintaining your profile and sending updates is an important part of the process. Remember, this is YOUR circle! This is your space to create a network that serves you and supports you in the way you need.
In this context, the 'Circle' is the people you surround yourself with to support you during your academic journey with the help of the Circle of Champions platform.
As your academic journey changes over time, so can your Circle! You may add people to your Circle over time as key individuals come in and out of your life. Regardless, this is a group of people who will celebrate with you when you achieve important accomplishments, support you when you encounter challenging hurdles, and help you when you are making important decisions.
Many students, especially first-gen students, come from communities with friends and family who love them, but often lack college experience and know-how. As a result, these students receive less guidance in their academic journeys. Surrounded by people who want to help but don't know how, they are less likely to receive support when applying for college, choosing courses, securing financial aid, planning for careers, and generally navigating the complexities of college. In addition, the under-funded condition of the public colleges they most often attend means college personnel are not typically able to fill these support gaps leaving an estimated 45% of college students (and more for marginalized students) to never see an academic advisor (Flaherty, 2023).
The result is that these undergraduates navigate complicated academic journeys largely by themselves. This condition contributes to an academic equity gap for students from historically underserved communities. While we can celebrate the achievement of proportionate college access for most student groups (Mora, 2022), success and completion rates remain disproportionately low for students of color and low income students from all race and ethnicity groups.
An engaged Circle of Champions has been proven to help students find greater academic success!
The My Champions section is where you can view your Circle of Champions! Around the circle you'll see every Champion that's accepted your nomination. When you click one of your Champions, you'll see their contact information, but we do recommend conducting your communication with the Chat With My Champions section.
You can also view your Champions in 'List Mode' by clicking the mode toggle in the upper right corner of the My Champions page. Note: You'll need to have Champions to access List Mode.
Building and maintaining your profile information is important because it is the most concise summary of where you are in your academic journey! This is where your Champions can go to see how you are doing and offer specific support in relation to your journey - It is also a space where you can reflect on your academic journey, document where you are, where you are headed, what you need to do, and more.
It usually takes a student about 15 or 20 minutes to initially fill in their profile information, although you can always update it when you have time! On a regular basis, we will ask you to update bits and pieces of your profile. These reminders typically take students about five minutes or less to update. You can also go to your profile at any time and spend as much time as you would like making sure all the information is accurate.
Yes! We keep all of your information securely stored behind your username and password. We NEVER share your information with any third party. The only people who have access to the information are you, your Champions, your Coach, the executive personnel charged with maintaining the website/application.
Your instructors can see your contact information, as well as the names, relationships, and email addresses of your Champions.
There are several ways to get help with any part of your Circle of Champions. You can always reach out to your instructor or coach for assistance. You can also visit the Help section of the platform, or these FAQs. If you need further assistance, you can contact our support team from the We're Here To Help section of the 'Support' page.
Champions can be added to your Circle if they accept a nomination that's sent by you! To nominate a Champion, go to the Nominate a Champion page, and fill out the form. We recommend reaching out to the people you nominate to let them know they've got an email that will register them to your Circle of Champions.
Students typically nominate family members, friends, former high school teachers, professors, and similar individuals to join their Circle. It is up to you, include those who uplift and encourage you
The primary role of a Champion is to keep up on your academic journey and support you through the journey. Some will do this at the emotional level, providing support and encouragement. Others in your Circle may have more detailed college process knowledge and can help from that perspective. One may even have professional mentoring expertise and can help with the job seeking end of your journey. Regardless, the primary role of a Champion is to help you move forward on your journey however they can.
An overview of their role can be found in the FAQ article on Starting Your Journey as a Champion
Not at all! There are no fees or payments required to be part of the Circle of Champions network.
The Circle of Champions platform is provided free of charge to all Students and Champions, thanks to the support of our college partners and sponsors.
Champions can focus on what matters most - supporting their Students - without worrying about any costs associated with being part of the Circle of Champions.
Nominees who agree to become Champions will be provided with specific instructions (and help) to go through the registration/sign-up process. During the registration, they will create a basic profile to use within the platform and your Circle.
In addition, we also have a FREE non-graded, no-credit course that provides resources to help your Champion engage on the platform, and be the best Champion they can be! It's full of conversation starters, and helpful tips on various aspects of navigating the educational system.
We consider a Circle with at least 3 Champions to be most effective. Each of your Champions will have valuable life experience that can help you in different ways. Having multiple Champions means you can get a variety of perspectives and advice when you need it. However, the quality of your relationships with your Champions is more important than the quantity. Focus on building strong, supportive connections with those who genuinely care about your success.
The chat you access via the Chat With My Champions section, is automatically shared among all of your Champions. Any Champion that accepts your nomination will automatically have access to this chat. Also, by using the Circle of Champions Network, you help us make it available to all Students and Champions for free.
When you send regular updates to your Circle of Champions, you keep them informed about your progress, challenges, and achievements. This helps them provide timely and relevant support, advice, and encouragement. Regular communication also strengthens your relationships with your Champions, making it easier for you to reach out when you need help or guidance.
It may take a Champion some time to respond, but remember they do care about your success. If a Champion isn't using the Circle of Champions platform as much as you'd like, be sure to encourage them to engage more actively.
The Update My Champions feature will help you constuct an update that you can send to your Champions. When you go to this section, you'll be able to have a conversation with your virtual guide, Sylvia or Mateo. They'll ask you a series of questions, and you'll provide your answers, which will be used to generate a recommended update. You can ask for changes to the message language.
Once you're happy with the update, ask your virtual guide to send the message to your Champions for you, and they'll take care of it! All your Champions will receive a personal message from you.
If you experience any issues, please reach out to our support team. Various resources can be found in the 'Support' section.
you can also reach out to the Circle of Champions Student Success Coordinator, Erika, at ereece@journeygps.com.
It's easy to nominate a Champion! Just go to the Nominate a Champion page, and fill out the form with the required information about the person you want to nominate. Once you submit the nomination, an email will be sent to your nominee with instructions on how to join your Circle of Champions. Be sure to let them know to expect the email so they don't miss it!
The nomination process itself is quick, but it's important you select the right people, so It's okay to take some time thinking about who to nominate. Once you've identified who you'd like to nominate and have their contact information, it takes less than a minute to nominate each one.
If you experience any issues with the nomination process, various resources can be found in the 'Support' section.
You can also reach out to the Circle of Champions Student Success Coordinator, Erika, at ereece@journeygps.com.