When students told us they wanted to hear from others just like them about how they overcame obstacles and went to college, we built an entire Web site around their suggestions.  At college.gov, you find real students telling real stories about how they achieved their dreams for getting an education.  These stories, along with guidance and resources designed to take the intimidation factor out of planning and paying for college, empower students with the knowledge that a future that might seem impossible -- really isnt.  

College.gov conveys that postsecondary education is an achievable goal for anyone, regardless of income, ethnicity, age or gender.  In addition to guiding users through the steps to get to and pay for college, college.gov provides the hope and inspiration that students need -- through the encouraging faces and voices of other students.

Many high school students are overcome by the barriers to postsecondary education and do not consider themselves college material.  As if finding the support and motivation to consider postsecondary education were not hard enough, finding even basic information about applying to schools or finding scholarships can seem scattered and too hard to navigate.  Before college.gov, there was no one government Web site students could go to for information about planning, preparing and paying for postsecondary education.   This information was spread out over many Web sites, most of which looked like they were designed for teachers or parents, instead of students.

Launched in May 2008, college.gov is a unique Web site that changes the way people find information about postsecondary education.  College.gov takes a holistic approach to delivering resources and guidance to our target audience of 9th through 12th graders, with a special emphasis on low-income, underrepresented and first-generation students.  

The site has three main goals: 1) Create and inspire hope that college is possible 2) Engage students by building a site that they can relate to, and 3) Inform and activate students by giving them the tools and resources necessary to get to college.  College.gov strives to create a balance between providing the proper resources and keeping its target audience engaged by presenting guidance and information in a user-friendly way.  As
Tony, one of college.govs featured students, said, College isnt just for rich people or for smart peoplecollege is for everyone.  College.gov strives to create better access to higher education through motivation, resources and guidance so more people can say Im going! 

We used Web 2.0 technology on college.govs home page to help connect students to other students.  Users are able to register on the site and upload their own picture and Im going statement on college.govs home page.  Users can then email their billboards to friends and family or embed their billboards into their own sites or blogs.  All users are able to browse through student-made Im going billboards on the home page, which creates a sense of unity and joint purpose.

This technology was used, because students told us we needed to reach out to them -- where they are.  From the beginning, we knew that one of our biggest challenges would be connecting students with the information they need in a way that is consistent with their normal online behavior.  New technologies are not just an important part of college.gov because they make the site better, they are essential in enabling us to reach and engage our target audience.  

Early in the project, the development team reviewed research on how the target audience interacts with the Internet, primarily from the Pew Research Centers Internet and American Life Project.  We learned that college.gov needed to incorporate user-generated content and have a presence on social networking sites.   Through reviewing existing research on how teens consume and process information, the team found that our target audience needs a conversational tone, interactive tools and white space on the page.  These findings were also later confirmed though focus groups and usability testing. In response, the team made a conscious effort to avoid dense text, unfamiliar words and long sentences.  Much of the information on college.gov was translated from other government sites into language that is easy to understand.

One of the students we talked to early in the project told us, Do something unexpected, do something non-government.  Another student challenged the Department by saying,   I dont see you on Facebook or MySpace.  Through existing research and focus groups, the team reaffirmed that a significant portion of our target audience uses social networking sites.  Therefore, college.gov created a fan page on Facebook to reach students on a site many of them use every day.  It allows students to show support for college.gov in an easy way that connects with their peers.  The project team is currently working with our Office of General Counsel to obtain clearance for creating a greater presence on Facebook.

Yes

Yes

College.gov provides a new way of thinking about higher education by encouraging students to believe that everyone is college material.  Too many high school graduates are discouraged from pursuing education beyond high school.  A high school student told us that for every one positive message she received about college, she received five negative messages.  It is easy for students to identify and absorb low expectations, and believe that college is not a possible option.  This has a significant impact on their futureand Americas.  About 90 percent of the fastest-growing jobs will require some postsecondary education.  Without proper information and support, students may not realize the benefits of higher education.  This is why college.gov focuses on motivation and inspiration.  The section Why Go holds equal importance to What to Do and How to Pay.  In many cases, helping students believe they are college material is the first step.

Motivation and inspiration are key components of the college.gov.  Early in the project, we learned that students needed to see themselves in the site.  When we asked high school students who they would listen to and trust for guidance, the answer was current college students.  Students told us, I want to see some who looks like me and knows what it is like to be homeless, hopeless and shut out by low expectations, but overcame all of it and ended up in college.  In response, we videotaped over one hundred hours of unscripted interviews with real college students and featured clips of these video throughout the site.  We featured clips of students who overcame great obstacles to empower users and help them realize postsecondary education as a possibility, regardless of how challenging it may seem.

College.gov has received a large number of positive comments about the site.  Samples are listed below:  

I think the website was very helpful and it helped me plan out how I was going to get to college. It also showed me what to do to get to college (high school student).

What a wonderfully comprehensive and useful site. It is chock full of information and easy to navigate. As a counselor, this will help me communicate the message of why college is important to my students. Thank you (foundation representative)!

As a current Admissions counselor for a small liberal arts college, I think this website is a great resource for students, parents, and people in communities! I am going to incorporate it into my high school visits with students and am considering how it can be implemented into my Hispanic Recruitment plan. Thanks for this initiative (Admissions Counselor)!

Your website looks great.  Our superintendent forwarded it to the District. I am a counselor and our push is to talk to the kids in our rural town - Population less than 5000 - about college (high school counselor). 

I would love to have a college planning night centered around this subject. Thanks so much.  College.gov will be a great resource for students (librarian).  

This is a great website!  I'm making up a handout that asks questions from this site, which will force my Note Taking students to search around and find all your valuable information.  Don't change a thing (Teacher)!!!

College.gov connects high school students with their peers and guides them through planning, preparing and paying for college with trusted government resources and motivational videos from current college students.  

College.gov features student involvement as an exceptional aspect of the overall project.  The teams approach to creating a Web site to engage students was simple:  we asked them what they wanted.  Students were heavily involved throughout the project and continue to be a focus as we work to make college.gov even better.

College.gov showcases pictures, quotes, video clips, Im going guide profiles and user-created billboards to create a strong student presence on the site.  During the initial cross-country listening tour, college students were videotaped as they answered open-ended questions about defining college material and giving advice to high school students.  Additional interviews were held in April and June 2008 to collect additional student stories about overcoming obstacles to pursue education beyond high school.  Video clips and pull-quotes from these interviews are included throughout the site to provide inspiration and allow users to feel personally connected to the college experience.

We particularly needed student input as we developed the look and feel of the site.  One team member continued to remind us, If we like the design, it must be way offcollege.gov should not appeal to forty- and fifty-year-olds.  After we created two possible design concepts, we held focus groups at a local high school and after school programs to let the student choose which they liked the best.  Students clearly picked college.govs current Im going design, which features road signs, map references and roadway imagery.

When the team was discussing ways to include social networking aspects and opportunities to include user-generated content, we held focus groups of high school students to direct us to the best solution.  We found that tapping into widely-used existing social networks would be far more successful than attempting to create a new social network within college.gov. 

To keep with the theme of a student-focused Web site, outreach tours were also used to gather information for one of college.govs latest additions, College Q&A.  During the high school visits, we collected questions about college from students.  Student submitted questions like, How did you make friends? and Was it hard to settle in?  subject areas that most government Web sites would never think to address.  The team convened a group of nine current college students to respond to these questions and posted the consolidated answers on the site.

The team continues to seek student input.  Usability studies are standard to ensure we are hitting the mark when we add new functionality.  Site feedback is another form of student involvement.  Every suggestion we receive through user feedback is discussed with the project team and considered as we make enhancements to the site.  This helps us stay connected with our audience and prioritize changes that are most important to them. 

Time was our teams most significant obstacle is creating college.gov.  The timetable for college.gov was five months from project concept to production.  In the private sector, this would be considered a tight timeframe, but in government, it seemed nearly impossible.  The college.gov team worked through existing contracts and moved with a whatever it takes attitude to make college.gov a success.   

In addition to the challenging timeframe, the team met some moderate obstacles in coordinating all the key players within the Department.  Several organizations across the Department of Education worked collaboratively, including but not limited to, Federal Student Aid, Office of Communications and Outreach, National Center for Education Statistics, Office of the General Counsel, Office of Vocational and Adult Education, Office of the Chief Information Officer, the Departments Assistive Technologies Group and Office of Postsecondary Education.  Each office played an important part in creating college.gov, but it was sometimes difficult to keep track of all the moving parts.

A third obstacle the team encountered was anticipating aspects of the site that would require Office of Management and Budget (OMB) information clearance.  College.govs January release, which included functionality to allow users to create Im going billboards, was originally planned for September 2008.  Shortly before the new release was scheduled to go live, we were informed that the new feature would need to go through a multi-month information clearance process.  Although the team was disappointed to delay the release, we understood the value and importance of the clearance process.  The team learned from the experience and now works with the Office of General Counsel to determine items, which require information clearance, so extra time can be built in to the project schedule.  

NA

Exceeded

We see our projects success affecting the lives of Americas high risk youth.  Too many faces and voices expressed concern and lack of confidence as we talked with students about college.  Our success will be measured by our ability to get students to share stories of difficulty and stories of overcoming difficulty and to motivate other students to believe that they too can attend and graduate from college.

College.gov received 39, 663 site visits the first two weeks of its official launch.  From June 2008 to February 2009, college.gov received 217,219 site visits, which averaged 6 pages per visit and a time of over 5 minutes per visit.  

In addition to measuring actual site visits, we monitor other forms of audience engagement.  As of March 2009, 3,987 customized posters were downloaded, 5,019 customized road maps were downloaded, and a total of 46 users created Im going billboards for college.govs home page.  The content and photographs are consistent with the motivational tone of the site.  Examples of user-submitted Im going billboard statements are below:

Im going to be the first in my family.
Im going to be a better person.
Im going to SUCCEED!! 
Im going to be the next great philosopher.
Im going so that my future is limitless.
Im going to be an example to my brothers!!!
Im going somewhere in life.
Im going to change the world one day!
Im going against all odds!
Im going to make a better life for my family.
Im going to be a fun math teacher!
Im going to create new opportunities.