Request No. | 2014-40 |
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Date of Original Request | December 31, 2014 |
Requester | CCCApply Steering Committee |
Status | Approved |
Application(s) | All Applications |
Section / Page | In-Progress Applications |
Steering Approval | APPROVED March 2017 |
Steering Hearing Date | June 16, 2016 |
Change to Downloads | No |
Change to Logic | No |
Table of Contents |
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Problem / Issue
Colleges have requested access to the In-Progress application database for the purpose of identifying students who have started an application but never completed or submitted one. Outreach to students who appear to have abandoned the application process is a high priority to colleges. In addition, they claim that the legacy Xap system allowed them tthis access and they are requesting CCCApply be modified to allow them access to these applicants for recruitment purposes. Bottom line: colleges want to support students and help them get through the admission application process.
Per discussions during Steering Committee meetings, Tim Calhoon, CCCTC Exec Director, adds, "Note: If we (CCC) do the notifying to the student about an unfinished/unsubmitted application, then we are all good. BUT the COLLEGE CAN NOT LEGALLY NOTIFY THE STUDENT and therefore cannot see data or know anything about an unsubmitted application."
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The purpose of this change is to implement a way where the system can generate a generic email to all students who have started an application but have not yet submitted it for processing. It is not legal for colleges to have access to the details of the application for the student has provided Consent by electronically signing their application and hitting "submit"; therefore, we will need to gain an understanding of what is permissible and what is legal in order for this generic email to go out to students who have not submitted an application. Patty plans to meet with the Steering Committee to finalize requirements |
Response from CCCApply
When a student starts an application with CCCApply, they are establishing a legal agreement / contract with the CCC Chancellor’s office. When they complete their application and submit, at this point, they are entering into an agreement to release their information to the college.
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Steering Committee Response 11/1/16 After discussing the specific text and message content of the emails (many colleges want to provide the content with links to their site) Tim suggested that a few different options:
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Proposed Solution
This issue led to many conversations across the CCCApply Steering Committee and CACCRAO Committees, and the solution is multi-faceted.
The ultimate solution is to challenge the existing Privacy Policy and compliance with FERPA and other government agencies that govern student privacy issues, to interpret (and enact) new policy so that colleges can reach out and provide support services to students who are having problems completing the admission application. As of the December 2016 CCCApply Steering meeting, new Chair Stephanie Murguia, with support from Secretary Mitch Leahy and CCCCO representative Michael Q., will submit a proposal to Legal to get an official opinion on accessing student pre-submission data for the purposes of providing support.
Interim Solution: Phase 1
Send a system-generated, generic email from CCCApply servers (on behalf of the intended college) to Applicant who starts an application but does not submit the application within 24 hours. A second email "nudge" would be repeated if the application is still unsubmitted after 7 days, providing links to the My Applications to "sign-in, resume app, and submit" or "delete/remove the unsubmitted application".
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Approved Implementation Phases & Objectives
Phase | DescriptionObjective | Develop & Maintain | Grow: Future Enhancement(s) |
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Phase 1 | System-generated, Generic Email Messages Templates for Unsubmitted Applications Email #1: Send after 24hours Email #2: Send after 7 days. Phase 1 functionality can legally send reminder emails from CCCApply (a state agency) but will reference the college and include college Admissions Office contact information, configured through settings in the College tab of the CCCApply Admiinistrator. Content of the emails is determined in collaboration with the CCCApply Steering Committee. | Main Primary objective is to follow-up and provide encouragement to students who may need assistance with the application process, and maintaining compliance with FERPA and other privacy laws and regulations. Emails are sent by CCCApply but will reference the College and include college Admissions Office contact, phone and email address, and encourage the student to contact the college directly for assistance with the admission process. Secondary objectives include:
| Initially these reminder messages will be sent via email; however, once OpenCCC and CCCApply servers have moved on to Amazon Web Services, Text Messaging can also be used for outreach, reminders, and alerts. Proposed Enhancement: |
Phase 2 & Phase 3
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Phases: Description, Objective, Future Enhancements
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Technical Change Specifications
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Proposed Message Content for Email #1 - 24 hours
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REPLY TO: <Use same Reply To address used in OpenCCC Account Confirmation email> SUBJECT: Reminder: Your CCCApply Application To <college_name> Has Not Been Submitted LOGO: <See logo below> HEADLINE: IMPORTANT: Your CCCApply Admission Application to {College_Name} Still Needs to Be Submitted! BODY: <See below> |
IMPORTANT: Your CCCApply Admission Application to {College_Name} Still Needs to Be Submitted!
Hi <firstname>,
Thank you for considering <college_name>. This is a reminder that the CCCApply application you started yesterday was not completed and still needs to be submitted.
To resume your application, return to your My Applications page in CCCApply. Find your in-progress application in the "Applications in Progress" table and click "Resume".
Need help completing your application? Contact the Admissions Office at:
{college_name}
{admission_contact}
{admission_phone}
{admission_email}
{college_url}
Thank you for considering {college_name}. Support representatives at the Admissions Office are available to assist you.
Did you forget your OpenCCC Account password?
Click here to recover your username or reset your password.
Or contact the OpenCCC Helpdesk for assistance:
OpenCCC Helpdesk
Call Toll-Free: (877) 247-4836
Email: support@openccc.net
Having trouble completing the application online?
Contact <college_name> to request a paper application from the Admissions Office at <admission_phone>, or email us at <admission_email>.
Proposed Message Content for Email #2 - 7 Days
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REPLY TO: <Use same Reply To as OpenCCC Account Confirmation email> SUBJECT LINE: Final Reminder: Your CCCApply Application to <college_name> Still Needs To Be Submitted LOGO: < See logo below and attached > |
Important! Your Admission Application to <college_name> Is Still Waiting to Be Submitted In CCCApply
Hi <firstname>,
The CCCApply application you started a week ago for {college_name} was never finished or submitted.
Ready to resume?
If you're ready to resume your application, return to your My Applications <My Applications> page and find your in-progress application in the “Applications in Progress” table. Click "Resume" to complete all pages and submit.
How can we help? Please contact the <college_name> Admissions Office directly for assistance:
<college_name>
<admission_contact>
<admission_phone>
<admission_email>
<college_url>
Did you forget your OpenCCC Account password?
Click here to recover your username or reset your password. <account recover url>
Or contact the Helpdesk. Support representatives will answer your call in 30 seconds or less.
OpenCCC Helpdesk
Call Toll-Free: (877)247-4836
Email: support@openccc.net
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Be sure to report this information on the Residency page in the application, or contact the college Admissions Office for assistance.
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Having trouble completing the online application?
Please contact <college_name> and request a paper application from the Admissions Office.
<< End Email #2 Language >>
Steering Needs (December 6 Meeting)
- Confirmation of the legalities that colleges can not access student in-progress application data (which federal or state law, is it FERPA for sure?) (Steering)
- Content of the generic email message(s) (Steering)
- Content of the college specific template (we create the template and allow colleges to complete the template) (Steering)
- Confirmation of the number of days or amount of time that the in-progress app sits before the email goes out (Steering)
- Need to understand the use case for wanting the <app id> shown in the email. Perhaps it would be useful for help desk reps. We could also modify the table in My Applications to show the appid as well.
Suggestions for language in the email from CCCApply...
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Email subject line: Action Required: Submit Your CCCApply Application What benefits do we want students to know during nudging?
What do we want our "Email nudges" to convey and include?
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Research & Supporting Documentation
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<<Text messaging is a promising approach to inform students of college-related tasks and to connect them to professional help when they need assistance. It is the predominant means by which young people communicate with each other. Whereas only six percent of teens exchange emails and 39 percent talk via mobile phones, 63 percent send texts on a daily basis (Lenhardt, 2012). Further, counselors who staffed the prior summer interventions cited texting as the most effective means of contacting students (Arnold et al, in progress). In addition, texting is a potentially cost-effective means to provide information and connect students to assistance. In the text message intervention discussed in this paper, for example, the marginal cost of each message was $0.01. Moreover, text-based outreach may increase counselors’ efficiency. >> Research on Student Behavioral Challenges Related to Attending College << Recent behavioral research suggests that people often over-weight immediate costs, both monetary and non-monetary, and forego investments that would be in their long-term interest (see, for example, Chabris, Laibson, & Schuldt, 2008). Faced with the time and cognitive burdens associated with college and financial aid applications, for example, students may delay addressing or abandon a key step in the admissions process — particularly if the alternative is something more enticing in the present moment (Madrian & Shea, 2001; Beshears et al, 2012; Scott-Clayton, 2011). Thus, even minor cost and process barriers may deter qualified students from successfully applying to and enrolling in college, despite a high probability that the lifetime benefits of higher education would far outweigh short-term investments. With a text platform, message delivery can be automated and content can be personalized to individual students and their postsecondary plans, Castleman – Summer Nudging EdPolicyWorks Working Paper Series No. 9. April 2013. Available at http://curry.virginia.edu/edpolicyworks/wp Curry School of Education | Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy | University of Virginia 7 eliminating the need for counselors to invest substantial time conducting student outreach and ensuring that outreach can occur on a schedule that aligns well with when students are available (e.g. nights and weekends). Personalized text messages could improve successful matriculation among college-intending students via several potential mechanisms. As we note above, it may be an efficient strategy for connecting students to counselors who can assist them to address summer obstacles that arise. Enabling students to request assistance via text mitigates several potential barriers to help-seeking. For instance, in schools where counselors have large caseloads and minimal time to focus on college planning, students may lack personal relationships with counselors (Civic Enterprises, 2012). Without a personal connection, students may be unlikely to initiate contact over the summer. In contrast, taking up the offer of help by responding to a text message may require considerably less interpersonal effort. Personalized text messages may also inform students of required tasks about which they were unaware and/or may simplify the steps required to complete these tasks. With a modest investment of time to assemble the required tasks and deadlines for institutions most common among each partner district’s graduates, we consolidated the set of required summer tasks into a series of ten institution-specific text message reminders. Most of the messages included institution and task-specific web links that guide students directly to the web page relevant to a given task (e.g. registering for orientation). Finally, the text messages may impact students’ college outcomes simply by nudging them to complete required tasks at the appropriate time during the summer. Personalized messaging effectively may turn adolescents’ greatest liability during the college choice process—their impulsiveness—into an asset.2 By providing simplified information and task-specific links, each message potentially allows completion of required steps in the moment, before students’ attention is otherwise diverted. For several reasons, socioeconomically disadvantaged students may be particularly prone to behavioral challenges related to attending college.
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