What We Do
Advise NC at NC State is a nonprofit college access organization whose mission is to increase opportunities by making education beyond high school more accessible for students across rural North Carolina. The success of our program lies in the values underpinning the program, our partnerships, and the program model.
School and Community Partnerships
Partnerships are the cornerstone of our work. Advise NC at NC State has partnerships with three major entities
NC State University
University Partner
AmeriCorps
Service Partner
Served Schools and Communities
School Partners
Each partner provides valuable information that informs and elevates our work in ways that spark new ideas, foster innovative approaches, and inspire constant improvement.
Our college advisers work exclusively in traditional public high schools in North Carolina. Advisers help foster the college-going culture within the high schools they serve by becoming a part of the school’s community. By collaborating with teachers and administrators, our advisers tie college-going into the life of a school. Advisers also assist existing high school counseling staff, thereby reaching more students.
Whole-School Approach
Next Step Advisers work with all students in their partner high school. Advisers help students with the resources they need to prepare, apply, and pay for a range of postsecondary pathways. From exploring different pathways beyond graduation to navigating the application process to and assisting with FAFSA applications, our advisers become experts on postsecondary pathways and access.
Working with the entire student body also means that our advisers are knowledgeable about many different postsecondary pathways, including bachelor’s degree and associate degree programs, as well as certificates, diplomas, and apprenticeship programs. While our primary role is to help students apply and enroll in postsecondary pathways, college advisers also work with students pursuing military pathways or the workforce immediately following high school graduation. The ultimate goal is to help students find and achieve post-graduation pathways that prepare them for success in their future careers.
Near Peer
All of our Next Step Advisers are recent college graduates themselves, making them closer in age, or “near-peers”, to the students they serve in the high schools. Moreover, many of our advisers are first-generation college students themselves and have first-hand experience with the challenges of applying and paying for college. Because college advisers have recently gone through the college process themselves, they can impart up-to-date, current knowledge of college today.
Best Match, Best Fit
Next Step Advisers assist students in finding and applying to postsecondary programs that are relevant to their long-term career goals and where students can succeed. Advisers first help students identify postsecondary programs that are going to be an appropriate academic match for their academic interests and profile. They also work with students to identify schools that are a good fit for their financial and personal needs and interests.
Data-Informed
Advise NC at NC State engages in a continuous process of collecting, analyzing, and reporting data to improve our service. Next Step Advisers use data to identify postsecondary programs that are best suited to help students achieve their career goals. The program engages in ongoing assessment and evaluation with both our university and nonprofit partners, including an external evaluation conducted by the Evaluation and Assessment Solutions for Education (EASE), a research group at Stanford University, to measure impact and identify areas for improvement.