Research & Information

Expanded version of PowerPoint presented at 10/6/2012 NACAC Denver

How to Get Your Girls to Consider Women's Colleges
Connecting the Dots to Find the Right Fit
October 6, 2012
NACAC - Denver
Kimberley Lewis, Senior Vice President of Enrollment Management & Student Services, Bryn Mawr College, PA
Kristin McAndrew, Director of Admission, Saint Mary’s College, IN

NACAC piloted a new 30 minute “burst” information session in Denver – not nearly enough time for us to talk about our favorite subject: this generation of girls and helping them find the right fit in the increasingly complicated college selection process.

Bottom line: “It is all about her.”

This is an expanded version of the PPT that was presented at NACAC on October 6, 2012. It includes additional key messages and research findings that you can tailor to meet your advisees’ needs.

Section 1 (4 - 15) Kimberley’s and Kristen’s Presentation in Denver
Section 2 (16 - 41) If: Today’s College Women
Section 3 (42 - 109) Then: What Alumnae Say

	The Women’s College Coalition has embarked on a bold research agenda, the objective of which is to answer the question, “Why does the world need women’s colleges?” Hardwick Day and NSSE findings, and work the Coalition is doing with Linda Sax (author of The Gender Gap in College: Maximizing the Development Potential of Women and Men) are distinctive points in the research agenda. The Coalition released new findings in webinars conducted in February and March 2012. We released the findings of our first Hardwick~Day Comparative Alumnae Survey in 2008. And while the world in which we work has changed significantly since then, the four key messages that came out of the 2008 findings, remain constant with the new, recently released findings. A women’s college education: Proves its value over a lifetime Develops critical skills for life and career Enables students to engage with top faculty and resources Creates leaders, communicators, and persuaders To listen to the recording of our March 7^th webinar, to see the Hardick Day Comparative Alumnae Survey or to download the Hardwick Day Comparative Alumnae Study Toolkit for Using the Findings to Tell Your Story CLICK HERE. For more information: 2008 Hardwick Day findings, CLICK HERE NSSE, CLICK HERE or CLICK HERE Linda Sax’s work, CLICK HERE to download the PowerPoint presentation
Jessica Reback (l) and Deb Shaver (r)	Connecting the Dots to Find the Right Fit September 24, 2011 A presentation at the 67^th annual conference of the National Association for College Admission Counseling explored the dimensions of the college selection process that young women need to consider in order to find the right fit in college – and why a women’s college might be the right fit for them. To see what Hector Martinez (Director of College Guidance at The Webb Schools), Deb Shaver (Director of Admission at Smith College), Jessica Reback (’11, Smith College and Teach for America – New Orleans at William J. Fischer Accelerated Academy, 7th/8th Grade English Language Arts/Writing) and Susan Lennon (President of the Women’s College Coalition) talked about with high school guidance counselors, click here for the abbreviated version of the presentation and click here for the expanded version, which includes the research, data, and dots that were presented – NSSE, Hardwick~Day and Linda Sax, etc. – as well as the stories behind the pictures in our newest poster. Stay tuned: The Women’s College Coalition has embarked on a bold research initiative to answer the provocative question, “Why Does the World Need Women’s Colleges?” New research findings from NSSE, Hardwick~Day, Linda Sax and other sources will be posted to our website as they are available. Join us in our noble mission: “The Women’s College Coalition, in concert with its members, transforms the world through the education and success of women and girls.”
	The Women’s College Coalition has released its newest poster to more than 14,000 high school guidance counselors and others who influence the college selection process. The target audience for the poster is prospective students. It is all about you. Your education and success matter. What matters in college matters after college – and it matters in your college selection process. Finding the right fit in a college – the college at which you will thrive and reach your academic and personal potential, the college that will best prepare you for success – is one of the most important decisions you will make. Finding the right fit is all about you. It’s about who you are and what matters to you. It’s about your dreams and expectations – of yourself and your college experience, both in and out of the classroom. Every picture tells a thousand words. The pictures on the poster tell the stories about many of the dimensions of finding the right fit and why a women’s college – which is all about the education and success of its students – might be the right fit for you. To learn more about the stories the pictures tell, Click here. Posters can be purchased ($1 each plus shipping and handling); Click here.
11 pages 601K	Women in STEM: A Gender Gap to Innovation August 2011 Our science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) workforce is crucial to America’s innovative capacity and global competitiveness. Yet women are vastly underrepresented in STEM jobs and among STEM degree holders despite making up nearly half of the U.S. workforce and half of the college-educated workforce. That leaves an untapped opportunity to expand STEM employment in the United States, even as there is wide agreement that the nation must do more to improve its competitiveness. To download a PDF of the full report click here
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13 pages 413K	Unlike many alumnae studies that assess students shortly after graduation, the Hardwick~Day survey of alumnae from the classes of 1970 through 1997 assesses the long-term impact of the college experience on: Satisfaction with the undergraduate experience Career preparation and advancement Broad skill development Personal and professional values and attitudes Community involvement For more on Hardwick~Day Click here For more information, contact Susan E. Lennon, Executive Director of the Women’s College Coalition at susan.lennon@womenscolleges.org
	Mills College Announces the Election of Its 13^th President, Alecia A. DeCoudreaux February 4, 2011 Mills College recently announced the election of its 13th president, Alecia A. DeCoudreaux, an accomplished business leader and current chair of the Wellesley College Board of Trustees. MORE»
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	The National Survey of Student Engagement(NSSE) is designed to obtain, on an annual basis, information from scores of colleges and universities nationwide about student participation in programs and activities that institutions provide for their learning and personal development. The results will provide an estimate of how undergraduates spend their time and what they gain from attending college. MORE »

Arab Language and Literature Major Films the World
Anne Aghion, an Emmy Award winning documentary filmmaker, spent four months in Antarctica last fall documenting what that extraordinary place does to the people who live and study there. "Some people feel obliterated by it. Others feel enlarged."
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