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Ernst & Young and College For Every Student (CFES) Join Efforts To Launch College MAP Program

Posted on: Wednesday, 20 May 2009, 07:45 CDT

Unique team mentoring model designed to help low-income high school students prepare for college

NEW YORK, May 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Ernst & Young LLP has teamed up with the not-for-profit organization College For Every Student (CFES) to launch a team-based volunteer program in nine cities across the United States that will provide support to low-income students and their families as they pursue the dream of higher education and navigate through the application and financial aid processes. The new program, called Ernst & Young College MAP (Mentoring for Access and Persistence), helps 11th and 12th grade students prepare for, access, and thrive in a four-year college degree program.

The Lumina Foundation for Education recently reported that while 90% of low-income teens plan to attend college, only half enroll -- in part because parents and students lack information about higher education. The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act includes billions of dollars in additional funding for PELL grants, as well as measures to make student loans more efficient and reliable. To empower low-income students to access these government resources and complete a four-year degree, the Ernst & Young College MAP program has been designed to:

• Expose junior and senior high school students to higher education opportunities and the lifelong benefits of a four-year college degree
• Simplify financial readiness and demystify the financial aid application process
• Provide support to complete a four-year degree after students are accepted and secure financial aid
• Instill the financial skills that will help students succeed in college and make the most of their future careers

"Today's challenging economic environment re-emphasizes the need for career readiness for the next generation; the foundation of that readiness is college access. As an organization committed to increasing access to higher education, we want to help fill the widening gap between career potential and career readiness," explains Gary Belske, Americas Vice-Chair and Chief Operating Officer, Ernst & Young LLP. "Approximately one-third of our employees -- including myself -- are first-generation college graduates. We see College MAP as an invaluable opportunity to share our first-hand experiences and success."

Engaging parents and guardians, who influence the students' college preparedness and success, is a core element of the Ernst & Young College MAP program. Parents and guardians will be invited to workshops and college campus visits throughout the course of the two-year mentorship. Simultaneously, firm mentors will benefit from the team-volunteer model that allows employees to share volunteer responsibilities among their mentor team -- encouraging flexibility, a firm-wide priority. The mentoring experience will also develop employees' leadership and project management skills, as well their abilities to collaborate with colleagues and mentees.

This spring, the Ernst & Young College MAP pilot program will kick off with 11th grade student assembles in high schools in nine cities, including:

• Atlanta - Booker T. Washington High School
• Boston - Madison Park Technical Vocational High School
• Chicago - Perspectives-Calumet High School
• Dallas - Justin F. Kimball High School
• Denver - Martin Luther King, Jr. Early College
• New York - Adlai E. Stevenson High School
• Palo Alto/ San Jose - Gunn High School
• Philadelphia - Frankford High School
• Pittsburgh - Northside Urban Charter School

To prepare for the mentorships that will formally begin this fall, CFES and Ernst & Young LLP are designing a unique curriculum to guide the monthly group mentor meetings. The Ernst & Young LLP employee mentor teams are also being trained in techniques for implementing the College MAP curriculum, which includes demystifying the admissions process, the financial aid calculation process and different types of financial aid.

"Working with Ernst & Young LLP to provide college access, financial aid resources and coaching to underserved students is a tremendous opportunity for our organization to further its mission," says Rick Dalton, CEO & President of College For Every Student. "We're also excited to help launch Ernst & Young LLP's innovative team mentoring model, which has the potential to become an exemplary solution for the employee volunteer challenges that all professional service firms face."

About Ernst & Young

Ernst & Young is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. Worldwide, our 135,000 people are united by our shared values and an unwavering commitment to quality. We make a difference by helping our people, our clients and our wider communities achieve their potential.

For more information, please visit www.ey.com.

Ernst & Young refers to the global organization of member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young LLP is a client-serving member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited located in the U.S.

About CFES

College For Every Student (CFES) is a nonprofit organization committed to raising the academic aspirations and performance of underserved youth so that they can prepare for, gain access to, and succeed in college. Since its founding in 1991, CFES has helped more than 100,000 underserved youth in 540 schools nationwide strengthen their academic performance, graduate from high school, and pursue college. For more information,

visit www.collegeFES.org.

SOURCE Ernst & Young LLP

Source: PR Newswire

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