Access, Admissions & Success
Addressing challenges along the P–16 pipeline
Concerned with the current state of American education, the College Board convened the Commission on Access, Admissions and Success in Higher Education to examine demographic, socioeconomic, public policy, and education trends that affect college access and success.
The commission's final report, "Coming to Our Senses: Education and the American Future," sets an ambitious goal of ensuring that at least 55 percent of Americans hold a postsecondary credential by 2025. To reach this goal, the commission makes a series of action-oriented recommendations spanning the P-20 pipeline.
Led by chair William Kirwan, chancellor of the University System of Maryland, the commission is a nationally representative group of college presidents, university chancellors, admission and enrollments deans, school counselors and administrators, and other education experts.
Download the full Coming to Our Senses report (.pdf/2.96M).
Download the summary of the Coming to Our Senses report (.pdf/1.25M).
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"The effect of diminished access has a devastating impact on the lives of individuals seeking advancement through education and on our collective hopes for advancing our society's interests and welfare."
–William "Brit" Kirwan, Chair, Commission on Access, Admissions and Success in Higher Education; Chancellor, University System of Maryland
Follow-up work
As follow-up to the release of "Coming to Our Senses," we are working with the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) to develop a practical policy guide for states. The guide will outline legislation and policies that advance each of the Commission’s 10 recommendations, offer examples of state programs, and provide practical tips on how policymakers can enact and support the recommendations.
As a complement to the state policy guide, a team has been assembled to identify and benchmark indicators to measure progress toward the Commission’s goal and recommendations, on a state-by-state basis wherever possible. This annual report will be released along with the state policy guide in spring 2010.
Related initiatives
The Commission worked alongside the Task Force on Admissions in the 21st Century, and drew from the work of other College Board Advocacy projects, including:
View a list of Commission and Task Force members (.doc/47K).