By 2018, an estimated two of every three U.S. jobs will require postsecondary education. But making the leap from high school to college, and staying in college, isn’t easy for many students.

Enter Ramp-Up to Readiness, a school-wide advisory program that helps students master the skills needed to get to college and succeed. The program was created by the University’s College Readiness Consortium, now part of CEHD.

Since 2012, Ramp-Up to Readiness been implemented in 56 middle and high schools across Minnesota, reaching more than 34,000 students in grades 6–12. A new cohort of schools began preparing for the program last spring, which will bump the number of participating schools to more than 100 this fall, with more than 55,000 students.

While preparing students academically for courses in technical, community, or four-year colleges, the program focuses on non-academic aspects of readiness. Its curriculum rests on five “pillars”: academic, admissions, career, financial, and personal/social readiness. Ramp-Up to Readiness is a research-based program, with ongoing research to study its impact and improve its effectiveness.

Program director Jim Bierma emphasizes the importance of school counselors in connecting students to postsecondary options. Ramp-Up works closely with counselors to integrate “college thinking” into junior high and high school courses.

“We hope that by helping students feel college-ready, we will give them the confidence and the mindset that they can be successful in college,” says Bierma, who has been an elementary, junior high, and high school counselor himself and brings national leadership experience to his current role.

Any Minnesota public secondary school may apply to participate in the program. Learn more.