Reinventing the College Search Process: Free Service Helps Students Find Affordable College Matches
IOWA CITY, IOWA (PRWEB) January 07, 2015
College Raptor today announced its advisory board of distinguished experts from higher education who will provide guidance as the organization brings a new level of transparency to the admissions and financial aid process.
College Raptor was developed by successful tech entrepreneur William Staib, in collaboration with Richard Ferguson, who served as the CEO of ACT for 22 years. As the only college search platform that allows users to estimate their individual “net” cost for attending every four-year college in the United States, College Raptor provides high school students and their families with a one-stop destination to determine which colleges are a good fit.
“College sticker prices are rarely the prices that students actually pay,” said College Raptor founder Staib. “Most colleges reduce the price of attendance for nearly every student based on their unique academic and financial situations. Knowing the net price, not the sticker price, is essential when comparing college options.”
The company is guided by an Advisory Board of higher education leaders that includes Michael Barron, retired assistant provost for enrollment management and executive director of admissions, University of Iowa; Ken Craycraft, Ed.D, former vice chancellor, Texas State University System; Ann Hasselmo, Ph.D., president emerita, American Academic Leadership Institute; and Ted Sanders, Ed.D., former president of Southern Illinois University and former deputy secretary, U.S. Department of Education.
Through the free service, users enter selected academic and financial information to find colleges that match their profile and estimate the net cost to attend each school. The site also provides the likelihood they will be accepted at the colleges of interest to them. College Raptor helps users learn valuable information in an efficient way, without having to spend hours searching the internet. As a result, they discover options they might never have considered because of a lack of awareness or financial concerns based on a college’s sticker price.
“To achieve our goal of bringing transparency to the college admissions and financial aid processes, we know we must work closely with the higher education community,” said Staib. “The experts on our advisory board will provide us with the insights and advice necessary to help every student, regardless of background, make good choices.”
Detailed biographies for the College Raptor Advisory Board members follow:
▪ Michael Barron has spent more than 45 years in college admissions and enrollment management, including managing enrollment and admissions for the University of Iowa for nearly three decades. Barron is now an independent consultant in higher education with specialties in enrollment management organization and structure; admissions operations; recruitment; marketing strategies and systems; financial aid leveraging; and higher education management, including state, regional and national networking.
▪ Kenneth Craycraft, Ed.D., is retired from Academic Partnerships as an executive vice president and was the former chief academic officer and vice chancellor for the Texas State University System. With more than 30 years of experience in higher education, he has worked as a professor and in numerous administrative positions, as well as served as a consultant to the U.S. Department of Education. Throughout his career, Craycraft has worked closely with both state and national legislators, regents and others to increase accessibility and affordability in higher education.
▪ Former president of Hendrix College, Ann Hasselmo, Ph.D., has served in numerous leadership positions in higher education organizations and associations. She is past chair of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, the Educational and Institutional Insurance Administrators Consortium, the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III Presidents Council, the American Council on Education’s (ACE) Council of Fellows, ACE’s Commission on Governmental Relations, the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, the Associated Colleges of the South, and the National Association of Schools and Colleges of the United Methodist Church. Hasselmo is president emerita of the American Academic Leadership Institute and is a consultant to colleges and universities in their leadership searches for presidents, vice presidents and deans.
▪ Ted Sanders, Ed.D., brings a wealth of expertise in all facets of education to College Raptor. For more than 40 years, he has held a wide variety of positions in education in government, colleges and universities, and the private sector. In addition to serving as acting Secretary of Education for the U.S. Department of Education, Sanders was chief state school officer in Nevada, Ohio and Illinois. He also served as president of Southern Illinois University and led policy research as president of the Education Commission of the States. His variety of experience and depth of expertise in all facets of education provide critical insight for how College Raptor can operate to best serve students, parents and the education community.
For more information about College Raptor, visit https://www.CollegeRaptor.com.
