Kansas State College Advising Corps celebrates 10 years of success and a new name

In 2016, the Kansas State College Advising Corps, or KSCAC, was launched by K-State’s Office of Enrollment Management to mentor students through the process of finding their “best-fit” option after graduation by placing full-time advisors in six Kansas high schools.

KSCAC advisors now work with students from 23 schools in Kansas, helping them explore and reach their postsecondary goals, including two- or four-year colleges, technical schools, apprenticeships, the military or a direct-to-work pathway. These efforts positively impact society and transform the lives of Kansans by improving their future quality of life and standard of living.

KSCAC’s tremendous growth and expansion has inspired a name change that better reflects the scope of the unit's work: Kansas State College and Career.

“In supporting Kansas high school students in all their postsecondary pathways, we’ve found that career and workforce readiness play an equally important role as college advising,” said Chris Beggs, KSCAC executive director. “When students find their path — whether it’s a university degree, technical certificate or skilled trade — the return is a strong workforce, lower remediation costs and families that stay and build in our communities.”

Thanks to grant funding and private philanthropy, KSCAC has doubled its reach, serving 40,000-plus high school students over the past 10 years, and the impact has been profound. Students who have met with KSCAC advisors have submitted more than 91,600 college and technical school applications and accessed over $273 million in aid and scholarships since 2016.

While the numbers are impressive, KSCAC advisors find the most reward in seeing the impact of this program on their students firsthand. One advisor guided a student through every step of the college application process, helping her complete her application, complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and schedule meetings with college professors about her program of interest. The student told her, “If you weren’t here to help, I never would have applied or decided to attend college. The process alone would have been scary, and I wouldn’t know where to start.”

— Submitted by Susan Heim