CFNC Educator Update

VOLUME IV/ APRIL 2009

Greetings!

Dear Educator,

We hope you're enjoying a great spring semester!
In this issue of Educator Update we will focus on
the FAFSA Day program, as well as the new CFNC Transfer Navigator. We will also highlight the new online middle school brochure, and we will provide information on a career exploration tool for adults.

During these difficult economic times, resources to help students plan, apply and pay for college are increasingly important, as you know. Please continue to encourage your students to investigate the free services provided by CFNC!

We hope you enjoy the information contained in
this newsletter and find it useful. As always,
please let us know if you have any questions, feedback, or ideas for future editions.

Thank you for all you do to help the state's
students!

Sincerely,

Robbie Schultz, Mark Wiles, Ben Kittner, Nicole Roach

CFNC newsletter editors

In This Issue...

More Than 4,500 North Carolina Seniors Received Help on FAFSA Day

On February 21, more than 4,500 high school seniors and their families received free assistance in the completion of their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms at 65 FAFSA Day locations across the state! This number represents a 25% increase over the 2008 attendance. In addition, more than 750 volunteers, including many high school counselors and other educators took time out of their weekend to help participants. Many thanks to all who helped these students qualify for college financial aid for the 2009-10 academic year.

We appreciate the willingness of the State Employees’ Credit Union and the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Agency to provide host sites, on a pilot basis, at five locations. The programs at these sites went very well, and we are looking to offer FAFSA Day programs in many parts of the state we have not been able to provide this service in the past through such partnerships.

We are delighted that so many students took advantage of this opportunity during these challenging economic times, and we look forward to the 2010 FAFSA Day program, which will take place on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010. Please mark your calendars, and stay tuned for a listing of next year’s FAFSA Day sites in the fall!

CFNC Transfer Navigator

CFNC is proud to announce that the first phase
of the Transfer Navigator was launched on
April 17th. The Transfer Navigator allows
students to explore how courses will transfer between North Carolina’s colleges and universities. This phase one release
encompasses the transfer of over 600 courses from any of the 58 North Carolina Community College System campuses to any of the 16
four-year University of North Carolina institutions. Future phases will incorporate the 36 North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities,
as well as expanded functionality. For more information, please contact David English at englishdj@northcarolina.edu.

New Middle School Brochure Online

CFNC recently mailed a postcard to the parents of middle school students. The postcard referenced a special brochure that you can view at CFNC.org/collegetrack. This publication is not available in print, but you are welcome to share this web address or the PDF when communicating with parents.

Piedmont JobLink Centers Adopt CFNC.org

CFNC is pleased to announce that the JobLink Centers in the 12 counties of the Piedmont region will soon be using CFNC.org as the career exploration tool for their clients. Through a WIRED grant secured by the Piedmont Triad Partnership (www.piedmonttriadnc.com ), all professional staff members are now being trained on the Bridges Career Tools for adults found on CFNC.org. “With the recent growth in unemployment, this is a great time to make sure NC residents have the best possible information for finding careers and the training they need to make transitions,” says Mark Wiles, Director of the CFNC Resource Center.

More N.C. Students Are Sending Applications Through CFNC.org

In 2008, students in North Carolina submitted 354,482 college applications using CFNC.org.
This is up from just over 100,000 in 2004.
Please encourage your students to take advantage of this service. Using CFNC.org to
fill out college applications makes the process easier, since once the student has filled out the first application, much of the information automatically fills in subsequent applications. Colleges encourage online applications more
than ever.

CFNC Delivers 100,000th Electronic High School Transcript

More N.C. high school students can now send their transcripts directly to colleges and speed up their application process. In February 2009, CFNC delivered its 100,000th electronic high school transcript. This summer, CFNC expects more than 400 participating NCWise schools to provide electronic delivery of high school transcripts through CFNC, ultimately increasing college access opportunities for NC students. For a complete list of participating high schools on the CFNC Transcript system, go to www1.cfnc.org/ExternalScripts/My_CFNC/ transcripts.asp and click on the link “participating public high school."

Calls to CFNC Toll-Free Number Are Up

The financial aid branch of the CFNC toll-free number (1-866-866-CFNC, option 2), staffed by experienced and helpful call center financial aid specialists, received more than 135,000 phone calls last year. In January 2009 alone, CFNC received 13,720 calls with questions on saving or paying for college! The call center is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday - Thursday and 8 a.m.
to 5 p.m. on Fridays.

CFNC Statistics

Number of CFNC.org user accounts: 2,609,817

Number of online college applications submitted
through CFNC.org: 1,333,259

Number of high school transcripts submitted
through CFNC.org: 105,478

Increase in number of NC529 Plan Accounts from March 2008 to March 2009: 27.5%

Number of NC employers offering
NC529 payroll deduction benefits: more than 200

Total amount in NC529 Plan as of March 2009:
$368 million