CPV Background

Background

College Positive Volunteers (CPVs) are any trained college students (and/or faculty and administrators) who are volunteering with, or plan to volunteer with, K-12 youth as a part of a course or service learning program on their college campuses. CPVs intentionally act as ambassadors of higher education when serving with youth, exposing them to college options, resources and materials to be successful in the college exploration and application process. As a college access program, CPV reflects efforts to increase the college enrollment and success for all students, and especially underrepresented students, by providing them with support and information about college preparation, paying for college, career selection, financial resources, and more!

The CPV Toolkit is a collection of training and educational resources developed by Michigan Campus Compact in 2010. The CPV model received attention across the country and outgrew the management capacity of MiCC. In July 2014, MiCC transferred ownership of the CPV model to National Campus Compact for expansion. MiCC will continue to support member campuses and partners across Michigan, and will continue to host this Michigan-specific resource.

What is College Positive Volunteerism?

Across the country, many college students volunteer through their post-secondary institutions to work with K-12 youth as mentors, tutors, event-specific participants, etc. College Positive Volunteers (CPVs) are those college students and their administrators who are aware of how they impact the college enthusiasm and readiness of the K-12 youth they interact with as they volunteer in local communities.

As a college access program, CPV reflects efforts to increase the college enrollment and success for all students, and especially underrepresented students, by providing them with support and information about college preparation, paying for college, career selection, financial resources, etc.

The CPV program includes a slightly different take on the traditional definition of “college.” It includes all of the following post-secondary institutions—four-year colleges and universities; two-year community and junior colleges; and vocational, technical, and business schools.

Who Can Become a CPV?

College Positive Volunteers are any trained college students (and their faculty and/or administrators) who are volunteering with, or plan to volunteer with, K-12 youth as a part of a course or through service programs on their college campuses. CPVs intentionally act as ambassadors of higher education when serving with youth, exposing them to college options, resources and materials to be successful in the college exploration and application process.

Michigan’s College Access Strategy

Michigan has created a statewide strategy for increasing the number of Michigan citizens who attend and complete post-secondary education. The key component of this strategy is the network of partner organizations, including Michigan Campus Compact, that have joined together to increase college access and success among Michigan’s K-12 youth and adult learners.

Acknowledgements

Funding for the original College Positive Volunteerism toolkit was provided by Michigan Campus Compact through the Michigan College Access Network and the U.S. Department of Education College Access Challenge Fund, and the King-Chavez-Parks Initiative’s GEAR UP/College Day within the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth. National Campus Compact and the Lumina Foundation provided supplemental support for the design of the tool.

The College Positive Volunteerism Toolkit was written by Kim M. Davis, Ph.D., a faculty fellow for Michigan Campus Compact and King-Chavez-Parks Initiative. The director for this project at Michigan Campus Compact was Michelle Snitgen.

The 2012 version was written and edited by Paul Hernandez, Ph.D. and Karla Loebick, based on previous work by Kim M. Davis, Ph.D. The director for this project at Michigan Campus Compact was Renee Miller Zientek. Funding for this toolkit was provided by Michigan Campus Compact through the U.S. Department of Education College Access Challenge Fund. Contents do no necessarily represent the policy of the Department and should not be assumed as endorsed by the federal government.

A special thanks to Massachusetts Campus Compact for guiding our initiative with their work and publications:  A Guide to College Access and the College Positive Volunteer, and Emerging Themes in the Fields of College Access and Civic Engagement: College Access Fellows Mapping Report. http://ase.tufts.edu/macc