
Thinking about Going to College
In this learning module, we will explore the idea of going to college and some of the thinking or planning that is associated with this idea. There are three basic resources that will help you learning about this topic.
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Video: Watch a video by members of the MyCircleofChampions team. The short video discusses the topic at a general level.
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Frequent Questions: Look at the most common questions associated with this topic. Choose those that are interesting to you and read the summary answers.
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Champion Discussion Ideas: Explore a few ideas on how you might initiate a discussion with your student and the other Champions in your Circle.
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Student Discussion Ideas: Explore a few ideas on how you might initiate a discussion with your Champions and engage the entire Circle.
Video
Champion Discussion Ideas
Remember how critical your role as a Champion is in the life of your student. First-generation college students in particular need this kind of support. Whether your support is emotional, financial, practical, or academic, it can literally make the difference between college success and failure. Reaching out to discuss their journey on a regular basis has a bigger impact than you may realize. Below are a few ideas to stimilate conversation with your entire Circle.
Student Discussion Ideas
First-generation college students often face unique challenges in discussing college with their support systems, especially when their Champions (family and friends) may not have firsthand experience with higher education. With that said, your Champions may have some thoughtful insights and can help support you, even if they did not attend college themselves. Below are a few ideas on how you might initiate a conversation on this topic with your Champions.
Frequently Asked Questions
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What career paths are available with a college degree?TBD
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How much does college cost?TBD
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Are there opportunities for study abroad? Study in a different country?TBD
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What extracurricular activities are available?TBD
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Are there different types of colleges?TBD
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How do students balance work and study?TBD
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What support services are available for students?TBD
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What are the entrance or admission requirements?TBD
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Do colleges have different reputations in industry and professions?NA
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Is it possible/recommended to consider colleges outside the U.S.?TBD
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How will attending college impact a student’s future career?TBD
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What is campus life like?TBD
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How diverse are college campuses?TBD
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Why go to college?TBD
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What is the campus safety like?TBD
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Are there internship opportunities available through college?NA
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How does a student choose the right college?TBD
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What majors or programs do colleges offer?TBD
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What are the housing options?TBD
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Are there financial aid options available?TBD
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What happens if a nominee says "no" to my invitation?First, it is important that you do not take this as a big personal rejection. Some people are going to say "no." They may be going through something in their private lives and don't have time for the commitment. They may have been asked already by a few other students. We won't ask them to explain why. We just accept their "no" and move on. Remember that successful people encounter "no" all the time. The key is to keep moving forward looking for the "yes".
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How do I get help if I am having problems with the nomination process?Reach out to your coach (www.mycircleofchampions.com/mycoach) or find other resources for student help at www.mycircleofchampions.com/help.
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How many Champions should I have in my Circle?At a minimum, you should aim for 3 Champions to be in your Circle. We recommend that you do not exceed 10 Champions. You will likely need to nominate 4 or 5 to reach your minimum.
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How long does it take to nominate Champions?It could take a while to think about who you want to nominate. Some students spend a few days thinking about this off and on. It is important you select the right people. Once you have the nominees identified and have their contact information, it take less than a minute to actually nominate them.
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Do nominees have to pay anything to be my Champion?There are no required expenses or fees to be a Champion. The program is free to Champions.
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How does the nomination process work?It is a pretty simple process for students. Once you have decided who you will nominate, login/sign-in to your account through myCircleofChampions.com. Go to the "Nominate a Champion" tool, fill in the nomination form for each individual and hit send. An invitation from you containing all the information a nominees needs to join your Circle is sent automatically.
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What happens if a nominees agrees to join my Circle?Nominees who agree to become Champions will be provided with specific instructions (and help) to go through the registration/sign-up process. Basically, they will need to register and fill out a very brief profile. There are significant orientation materials provided to Champions at www.myCircleofChampions.com.
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Who should I nominate to be a Champion?Students typically nominate family members, friends, former high school teachers, professors, and similar individuals to join their Circle. It is up to you. The diagram below may give you some ideas.
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Why should I have Champions in my life?If you are a first-generation college student, it is particularly important to build a Circle of Champions. 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 first-gen 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 first-gen students find greater academic success.
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What will Champions be asked to do? What is their role?The primary role of a Champion is to keep up on you 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 at https://www.mycircleofchampions.com/being-a-champion.
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What is the Circle of Champions Network?Simply put, The Circle of Champions Network organizes the existing social capital in first generation students’ lives and converts it into academic capital. First-generation 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; this is particularly true for many Hispanic STEM students. 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 many Hispanic STEM undergraduates navigate complicated academic journeys largely by themselves. The Circle of Champions Network helps students identify the natural cheerleaders in their lives. Students tend to nominate an average of a little more than four individuals to join their Circle. Typical nominees include parents, other family members, friends, former high school teachers, professors, and similar individuals. With a Circle of Champions around each student, the Network systems and associated personnel track student academic journeys, keep champions up to date on their student’s progress, and help champions learn how to provide informed support. The environment is culturally responsive and built around a scalable model, allowing coaches to manage a cohort of 500-750 students and 2,000-3,000 champions. Our aim is to convert students’ assets and community wealth into traditional forms of academic capital.
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Why am I making a grade recommendation for my assignment?Self-reflection and recommending a grade for your Circle of Champions assignment is important because it encourages you to engage in a deeper analysis of your own work, helping you become more aware of your strengths and areas for improvement. This process helps you assess your progress, recognize the effort you put into the assignment, and critically evaluate the quality of your work against the assignment's objectives and grading criteria. By recommending a grade, you develop a sense of ownership and responsibility for your learning, allowing you to be more proactive in identifying areas where you can improve in the future. This practice also fosters self-awareness and growth, as it encourages you to think more critically about your learning process and how you approach assignments. In turn, it allows your professor to better understand your perspective on your work, leading to more constructive feedback and a collaborative approach to your academic development.
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How will we use the information collected from this survey?This information collected through this self evaluation will be used for two purposes: 1) your professor will use this to help them assign a grade to your Circle of Champions assignment; and 2) data will be used to help improve the Circle of Champions experience for students and in the end, help more students finds success through their academic journeys.
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What is a post-survey?A post-survey is a data collection tool conducted after the implementation of a project. In this case it is used to measure what you opinion is now that you have been engaged in the Circle of Champions Network. We use it to gather information and compare this information to the baseline survey. The data from a post-survey helps evaluate whether the intended goals or changes were achieved, measure the impact of the intervention, and identify any unexpected results or areas needing further attention.
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Who is overseeing analysis of the survey data?UCLA and University of Pennsylvania oversee all research related to the Circle of Champions Network. Their goal is to help us understand what kind of impact the Network has on student success and help us understand the improvements that can be made to expand student success through the Network.
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How long has the Circle of Champions Network been around?Luis Chavez and Bryan Reece are the primary initiators of the Network. Mr. Chavez started working on mentoring solutions for Hispanic students in the early 2000s and has spent his entire career working with learning communities to help Hispanic students succeed (e.g., Puente). Dr. Reece has been working on technology enhanced and instructionally-related solutions for marginalized students since the 1990s. Luis and Bryan came together in 2021 to develop the Circle of Champions Network.
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Who from our College will be involved with implementing the Network?This may vary from college to college, but generally speaking, the following individuals are typically involved with implementing the Circle of Champion Network on their campus.
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How can our college join the Circle of Champions Network?The NSF funding mandate for the Circle of Champions Network is to 1) further develop the Circle of Champions Network; 2) design a model for implementation at a single HSI college (Gavilan College); 3) establish a sustainable model to support college partnerships; and 4) partner with other HSI colleges to build out the Network. Starting in the Fall of 2025, 5 California HSI community colleges will start full implementation as the 2025-26 Network Partners. We are trying to balance between two needs: First, we want to keep the group small to make sure we are as successful as possible with our implementation; Second, we want to press the number of colleges in the group to accommodate the strong interest we have received from colleagues. The colleges will come together through a series of meetings/workshops to collaborate on the work needed to bring the Network to their students. There is no cost to join the Network, but interest in being part of the 2025-26 group has been very strong. We will be vetting the expressed interests to make sure we identify colleges that are positioned for successful implementation. Each year will follow with additional colleges added to the Network. We plan to finalize the inaugural group by early March, 2025. To express your interest in joining the Network or find out more, please contact Luis Chavez. You may reach out to him at (510) 407-3970, lchavez@journeyGPS.com, or https://www.mycircleofchampions.com/partners.
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Who is behind the Circle of Champions Network?The Circle of Champions Network has been paid for by JourneyGPS and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Technology development and maintenance are provided by JourneyGPS. FirstGen America is assisting with mentor and champion recruitment. Gavilan College has been developing the initial college implementation prototype. Four HSI CA community colleges helped with early pilot implementation. UCLA and University of Pennsylvania are the primary research partners measuring the impact of the Network. Core Implementation Team
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What is the Circle of Champions Network?Simply put, The Circle of Champions Network organizes the existing social capital in first generation students’ lives and converts it into academic capital. First-generation 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; this is particularly true for many Hispanic STEM students. 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 many Hispanic STEM undergraduates navigate complicated academic journeys largely by themselves. The Circle of Champions Network helps students identify the natural cheerleaders in their lives. Students tend to nominate an average of a little more than four individuals to join their Circle. Typical nominees include parents, other family members, friends, former high school teachers, professors, and similar individuals. With a Circle of Champions around each student, the Network systems and associated personnel track student academic journeys, keep champions up to date on their student’s progress, and help champions learn how to provide informed support. The environment is culturally responsive and built around a scalable model, allowing coaches to manage a cohort of 500-750 students and 2,000-3,000 champions. Our aim is to convert students’ assets and community wealth into traditional forms of academic capital.
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What is the budget associated with implementing the Circle of Champions Network?The Circle of Champions Network will generate net positive income for the college. There are no fees to the college, students, or champions. There are internal expenses for the College, but the College will generate new income from the Network that exceeds internal expenses.
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What problem(s) does the Circle of Champions Network address?Our initial focus is the enduring (and worsening) academic equity gap for Hispanic STEM students. Our goal is to partner with HSIs to close the Hispanic equity gap in STEM. While we can celebrate the achievement of proportionate college access for students from Hispanic communities (Mora, 2022), success and completion rates remain disproportionately low for students from these communities. Hispanic students have a 5-year graduation rate of 41.5% (Hanson, 2022), and when they start their journey at a community college, their 6-year bachelor’s degree completion rate drops to 13.8% (Community College Research Center, 2020; Reece, 2021). These rates are much lower than upper-middle and upper income White, and Asian students who have completion rates around 70% (National Communication Association, 2019; Reece, 2021). This difference–the Hispanic equity gap–has been historically persistent, and is getting worse (Excelencia in Education, 2023). A full discussion of our focus on the Hispanic STEM gap, including a brief literature review can be found at www.mycircleofchampions.com/latino-a-stem-gap. Our intention is to develop a model for closing equity gaps for all student groups from historically underserved communities. To do this however, we believe we need to start with a specific focus. Working on the Hispanic STEM gap gives us this focus.
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What are our responsibilities if we join the Circle of Champions Network?College Responsibilities College team attends meetings/workshops College manager serves as the program sponsor Faculty member serves as Coach for the college cohort of students and respective champions College submits supplemental instruction (SI) curriculum/certificate for approval Coach serves as SI instructor of record STEM faculty may chose to offer Circle of Champions Assignment (SI) in sections College collaborates with research team (e.g., Institutional Research provides some data) College students sign up for Network, nominate Champions, and participate in Network College enters Instructional Services Agreement (ISA) to sustain program activities and expenses Circle of Champions Staff/Personnel Responsibilities Organize meetings/workshops and all related training Manage/lead implementation and project oversight Make Circle of Champions Network available to all STEM students (emphasis on Hispanic students) Develop/support all technology Provide all technical support for users (students, champions, faculty, coach) Develop SI curriculum/certificate content and related materials Track and report student engagement to participating faculty for grading/credit purposes Provide regular program reporting for college communications Train/support coach and faculty Manage ongoing research in partnership with UCLA and UPenn
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How will we use the information collected from this survey?This information will be used to help improve the Circle of Champions experience for students and in the end, help more students finds success through their academic journeys.
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What is a baseline survey?A baseline survey is used to collect data at the start of a project or program to establish a reference point for future comparisons. We use this survey to provide a snapshot of student opinions on a range of issues before they start engaging with the Circle of Champions Network. They survey helps us identify key issues, set measurable benchmarks, and assess the needs of students. This data is crucial for monitoring and evaluating progress over time, as it allows for comparisons between student opinion prior to engaging with the Circle of Champions and after.
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Who is overseeing analysis of the survey data?UCLA and University of Pennsylvania oversee all research related to the Circle of Champions Network. Their goal is to help us understand what kind of impact the Network has on student success and help us understand the improvements that can be made to expand student success through the Network.
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Why do I need to develop a transfer plan so early?Community college students should develop a transfer plan early in their academic journey to ensure a smooth and successful transition to a four-year institution. By planning ahead, students can align their coursework with the transfer requirements of their intended university, avoiding unnecessary or duplicative classes. Early planning also helps students stay on track to meet transfer deadlines, secure necessary resources (like financial aid or scholarships), and take advantage of opportunities for academic and career advising. Additionally, having a clear transfer plan can reduce stress and uncertainty, making the path from community college to a four-year school more manageable and efficient. It also increases the likelihood of a successful transfer, as students are more prepared and informed about the process.
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How does the Transfer Pláticas (Conversation) below work?You will hold a conversation with your Virtual Guide. Your Virtual Guide has memorized every college catalog in the U.S., knows your personal profile, and after a series of questions in this Pláticas will be able to make a list of recommended transfer colleges for you to consider. This is a list you should then collect feedback on from your Circle, your college counselor, college faculty, and more.
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What is My Transfer Plan?The transfer plan will help you think through all your transfer options and assist you with the development of a comprehensive plan. You can share this plan with your Circle, the Transfer Center at your college, your college counselor, faculty, and any others who may be able to give you good feed back.
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Can I send an update to my Circle without using the Sylvia/Matieo chat tool?Yes. You can manually send out an update by initiating a chat with your Champions at www.mycircleofchampions.com/chatwithmychampions. If you are going to send out an update manually (without Sylvia's or Mateo's assistance), we recommend you include the following topics in your update message: Discuss a challenge or two you have had over the last month or so. Discuss an accomplishment or two you have had over the last month or so. Discuss what you see as the biggest hurdle or hurdles coming in the next month or so. Ask your Champions a question at the end that is related to your update and will get a response. For example, ask them if they have had a challenge similar to yours, and what they did to address it.
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How does this update tool/process work?This is a very cool tool that makes writing and sending your update very easy. Once you open the tool, you will have a text-style or DM-style conversation with Sylvia or Mateo (your virtual guide). They will ask you a series of questions and you can provide simple answers in a conversational format. From there they will generate a recommended update. You can ask for changes to the message language. Once you are happy with the update, ask Sylvia/Mateo to send it to your Champions and they will take care of it. That's it! All your Champions will receive a personal message from you.
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How do I get help if I am having problems with the update tool?Reach out to your coach (www.mycircleofchampions.com/mycoach) or find other resources for student help at www.mycircleofchampions.com/help.
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Why do I need to send an update to my Circle?Many of your Champions are pretty busy. An update from you on your academic journey will help keep them informed and help them take relevant steps toward supporting your journey.
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How can I get help with My Profile?Reach out to your coach (www.mycircleofchampions.com/mycoach) or find other resources for student help at www.mycircleofchampions.com/help.
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Why do I need to build and maintain My Profile?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.
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Is My Profile information confidential?Yes! We keep all of your information securely stored behind your username and password. The only people who have access to the information are you, your Champions, your Coach, the executive personnel charged with maintaining the website/application.
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How long does it typically take to initially construct My Profile?Students typically take about 15 or 20 minutes to initially fill in their profile information. 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.
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What do I do if I can't remember my login/sign-in information?You can use the tools to create a new password at the the login/sign-in page, reach out to your coach, or find other resources for student help at www.mycircleofchampions/help.
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Are there any fees or costs associated with registration of signing up?No. Students can register and participate in the Circle of Champions Network at no cost. This program is free to students and Champions.
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Why do I need to register/sign-up?The information you will be sharing with your Coach and Champions may at times be private information. We need to make sure this information is kept confidential, and the only way to do this is to have your personal information and communications with your Circle transpire in a secure environment. Once you are logged in, you can stay logged in to make accessing your Circle of Champions as easy as possible.
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How long does the registration/sign-up process take?The process usually takes students less than 5 minutes to register.
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How can I get help me with the registration/sign in process?Reach out to your coach (www.mycircleofchampions.com/mycoach) or find other resources for student help at www.mycircleofchampions.com/help.
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How many Champions should I have in my Circle?At a minimum, you should aim for 4 Champions to be in your Circle. We recommend that you do not exceed 10 Champions. You will likely need to nominate more that 4 to reach your minimum.
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What is a Circle?We refer to a Circle of Champions as a Circle or your Circle. The Circle includes all the Champions who are supporting your academic journey. It may take a little while (a few months?) to build 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 struggle with challenging hurdles, and help you when you are making important decisions.
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How long does it take to achieve a full Circle?This varies quite a bit from student to student. Some students are able to identify nominees very quickly, extend invitations, and fill their Circle in a matter of weeks. Other students come from small families, no families, or families with strained relationships and spend several months or longer going through the process of building their Circle. If you are struggling to find four individuals to join your Circle, reach out to your coach (www.mycircleofchampions.com/mycoach) for help.
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How do I get help if I am having problems with viewing My CircleReach out to your coach (www.mycircleofchampions.com/mycoach) or find other resources for student help at www.mycircleofchampions.com/help.
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Why do I need a Circle of Champions?If you are a first-generation college student, it is particularly important to build a Circle of Champions. 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 first-gen 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 first-gen students find greater academic success.
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What can I do with this feature? With "View My Circle"?This feature allows you to see all the Champions in your Circle. You can view their individual profile information and reach out to them via email or chat. You can also communicate with the entire Circle easily from this view.
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Why should I chat/message champions rather than email?The chat/messaging tool makes it easy to see all individuals in your Circle and see what comments they are making. This is also an important tool because it allows us to track/record all communications. This helps us make the Circle of Champions Network available for free to all students and Champions.
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How do I get help if I am having problems with the update tool?Reach out to your student's coach (www.mycircleofchampions.com/mycoach) or find other resources for student help at https://www.mycircleofchampions.com/champion-help.
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How do I add more champions if my Circle is not yet full?To add more Champions to your Circle, login through myCircleofChampions.com, go to the Champion nomination tool, and nominate as many people as you like to join your Circle.
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What do I do if I can't remember my login information?When you open the sign-in page, if you do not remember your password, click on the "Forgot Password?" link and follow the instructions. You can also reach out to your student's coach (www.mycircleofchampions.com/mycoach) or find other resources for help at https://www.mycircleofchampions.com/help.
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How can I get help me with the registration/login process?Reach out to your student's coach (www.mycircleofchampions.com/mycoach) or find other resources for help at https://www.mycircleofchampions.com/help.
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What is the role of a Champion? What are a Champion's responsibilities?To see a brief overview of what it is like to be a Champion, visit https://www.mycircleofchampions.com/being-a-champion. A full orientation to becoming a Champion is discussed at https://www.mycircleofchampions.com/champion-orientation.
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Are they any fees or costs associated with registration?No. Champions and students can register and participate in the Circle of Champions at no cost. This program is free to Champions and students.
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Why do I need to register?The information your student(s) will be sharing with you may at times be private/sensitive information. We need to make sure this information is kept confidential, and the only way to do this is to have the entire Circle registered behind a username and password. This will set up a secure environment. Once you are logged in, you can stay logged in to make accessing the Circle of Champions as easy as possible.
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How long does the registration process take?The process usually takes less than 5 minutes to register.
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Is My Profile information confidential?Yes! We keep all of your information securely stored behind your username and password. The only people who have access to the information are you, your student(s), the other Champions in your Circle, your student's Coach, the executive personnel charged with maintaining the website/application.
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How can I get help with My Profile?Reach out to your student's coach (www.mycircleofchampions.com/mycoach) or find other resources for student help at www.mycircleofchampions.com/help.
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Why do I need to build and maintain My Profile?Building and maintaining your profile information is important because it helps your student(s) get to know you a little better. I helps them build a more meaningful and personal relationship with you. It also helps the other Champions in your Circle get to know you in your common effort to help your student(s) succeed.
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How long does it typically take to initially construct My Profile?Champions typically take about 5 to 10 minutes to initially fill in their profile information. You can go to your profile at any time and spend as much time as you would like making sure all the information is accurate and up to date.
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How can I get help with the Chat tool?Reach out to your student's coach (www.mycircleofchampions.com/mycoach) or find other resources for help at www.mycircleofchampions.com/help.
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How do I initiate conversation/chat with my Circle? With my student and fellow Champions?Login/sign-in to the Network through www.myCircleofChampions.com. Click on the chat/message tool. Choose who you want to communicate with by selecting a channel. If you only want to chat with your student, choose that channel. If you want to chat with everyone in the Circle, choose that channel. Once you have selected the channel, start typing your message. When you are done, hit send.
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Why should I chat/message my student and fellow Champions rather than email all of them?The chat/messaging tool makes it easy to communicate with your student and other Champions in your Circle. It also makes it easy for everyone else in the Circle to stay connected with each other. You can use the tool like a texting tool. This is also an important tool because it allows us to track/record all communications. This helps us make the Circle of Champions Network available for free to all students and Champions.
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Where does this student progress information come from?All of the progress information comes from the student him or herself. We do not pull data from the college to assess student progress, rather we rely on students to self-report.
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What should I do if my student's progress information seems incomplete or out of date?If the student's profile/progress seems to lack information or be out of date, it is because the student has not updated their profile. This in itself may be a good reason for you to reach out to your student with a note of encouragement. Talk to them about the need to maintain an assessment of their progress. You may want to make that comment as a post for the student and the entire Circle in the chat/messaging area.
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What confidentiality measures should I consider when sharing my student's progress information?You may want to "brag" about your student's progress, especially if they are doing well. For example, you may want to post something on your social media account about your student that other family members will see. This is a good practice. It will help your student feel supported. Your student has already provided consent for you to share their progress information. With that said, we recommend that you use caution and exercise discretion before sharing any of the following information: grades grade point average (GPA) student schedules student contact information Social Security numbers student ID numbers Rather than specifically mentioning these confidential items in public, you should think about making more general statements. For example, instead of say you are proud of your student for maintaining a 3.1 GPA, you may want to say you are proud of your student maintaining good grades.
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How can I get help if I am having problems viewing my student's progress information?Reach out to your student's coach (www.mycircleofchampions.com/mycoach) or find other resources for help at www.mycircleofchampions.com/help.
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Who else can see my student's progress information?We keep all student progress information securely stored behind username and password protections. The only people who have access to the information are the student who "owns" the profile, the student's Champions, the student's Coach, and the executive personnel charged with maintaining the website/application.
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What can I do with this feature? With "View My Student's Circle"?This feature allows you to see all the Champions in your student's Circle. You can view their individual profile information and reach out to them via email or chat. You can also communicate with the entire Circle easily from this view.
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How long does it take to achieve a full Circle?This varies quite a bit from student to student. Some students are able to identify nominees very quickly, extend invitations, and fill their Circle in a matter of weeks. Other students come from small families, no families, or families with strained relationships and consequently spend several months or longer going through the process of building their Circle. If your student is struggling to find a minimum of 3 individuals to join their Circle, you may want to reach out to your student's coach (www.mycircleofchampions.com/mycoach) for help finding additional Champions.
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How many Champions should a student have in their Circle?At a minimum, students should aim for 3 Champions to be in their Circle. We recommend that student's not exceed 10 Champions. If your students has not completed their Circle, it would be helpful if you encourage them to do so.
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How do I get help if I am having problems with viewing My Student's CircleReach out to your student's coach (www.mycircleofchampions.com/mycoach) or find other resources for help at https://www.mycircleofchampions.com/help.
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Why do students need a Circle of Champions?First-generation college students (students from families where no one has completed college) particularly need a Circle of Champions. 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 often 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 first-gen 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 first-gen students find greater academic success.
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What is a Circle?We refer to a Circle of Champions as a Circle or your Circle. The Circle includes all the Champions who are supporting a student's academic journey (one student and several Champions). It may take a little while (a few months?) for each student to build their Circle. Students may add people to their Circle over time as key individuals come in and out of their life. Regardless, a Circle is a group of people who will celebrate with the student when they achieve important accomplishments and help the student when they struggle with challenging hurdles.