Preparing Your School District for Partnership
What Partnership Means
The term “Partner District” refers to a Local Educational Agency (LEA) with a signed K-12 Data Sharing and Services Partnership Agreement with the California College Guidance Initiative (CCGI). Per the State of California, the definition of an LEA includes, but is not limited to, high school and unified school districts, county offices of education, direct-funded charter schools, and special education local plan areas.
To become a Partner District, a school district must first establish a formal data-sharing agreement with the CCGI.
The formal data-sharing agreement makes it possible for a school district to securely upload student transcript data into CaliforniaColleges.edu.
Which Districts Are Eligible For Partnership?
In order for a district to enter into a data-sharing agreement with CCGI, the district must demonstrate that it will:
- Be responsive to CCGI’s support to align their local A-G course list with the Course Management Portal (CMP).
- Be able to identify points-of-contact for implementation, data, and contracting.
- Enroll students in grades 9-12 at one or more school sites.
Benefits of Partnership
CaliforniaColleges.edu allows students to benefit from CCGI’s data partnerships with the California public colleges and the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) as well as with school districts. CaliforniaColleges.edu also offers college and career planning resources, providing students with one place where students can document their college and career planning journey from exploration to application tracking.
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Technical Requirements for Partnership
Student transcript data is required for certain tools on CaliforniaColleges.edu, such as the California State University (CSU) and University of California (UC) Eligibility Tools, as well as to import students’ verified A-G coursework and grades into Cal State Apply and/or the UC Application.
For these tools to function properly, A-G coursework in your school district’s Student Information System (SIS) must be aligned with the CMP. Formerly known as UC Doorways, the CMP is the “source of truth” database used by admissions officers at all CSU and UC campuses to verify students’ A-G coursework.
When a school district decides to enter into partnership, they must agree to participate in a mandatory A-G alignment process. CCGI is the State of California’s official technical assistance provider for A-G course alignment, as codified in California Education Code Section 60900.
The A-G alignment process helps Partner Districts align A-G courses in their SIS with the CMP. The goal of the A-G alignment process is to ensure the highest alignment rate possible between the district’s A-G course list and the CMP. This process ensures that students get credit for their completed A-G courses in the CSU and UC Eligibility Tools and when they apply to a CSU or UC.
What Technical Assistance Involves
We work with school districts to ensure their transcript data is accurately reflected in CaliforniaColleges.edu’s transcript-informed tools, such as the CSU and UC Eligibility Tools.
We support school districts by helping them align their A-G courses with the CMP and maintain a CMP alignment rate of 90% for in-district courses, as is required by California Education Code Section 60900(g).
We offer tiered support to ensure that we meet school districts where they are and provide the right level of support.
Partnership and Onboarding Process
If a school district meets the above criteria, CCGI will support them throughout the onboarding process described below, as well as after CaliforniaColleges.edu has gone live.
School district submits the Intent to Partner form and attends a Pre-Partnership Meeting.
CCGI works with the district to execute a K-12 Data Sharing and Services Partnership Agreement. The school district must also confirm that a notification has gone out to parents informing them of the agreement.
Once the K-12 Data Sharing and Services Partnership Agreement is fully executed and the parent notification deadline has passed, transcript testing occurs. Once testing has completed, the school district’s data goes live on CaliforniaColleges.edu.
Implementation Support
Once your school district’s data has gone live on CaliforniaColleges.edu, your district will continue to receive ongoing implementation support to ensure that educators in your district are able to access and use all the tools available on the platform with students. We do this by providing you with ongoing individual user support and year-round training opportunities.
To ensure that districts are prepared to implement CaliforniaColleges.edu, each district is assigned a regional Engagement & Implementation team member who is their main point of contact for implementation support. Partner Districts will receive strategic guidance and individualized support in planning and implementing CaliforniaColleges.edu to align with their district goals and priorities. The regional Engagement & Implementation team member assigned to a district will drive implementation support during the onboarding process and provide periodic check-ins to meet district needs.
We have a suite of on-demand training videos and step-by-step tutorials, designed for both students and educators, available on the CaliforniaColleges.edu Resource Hub. These resources can be accessed and shared at any time. CCGI also offers customized training support depending on districts’ needs. Partner Districts will work with their regional Engagement & Implementation team to identify their training needs and develop a training plan on how best to support those needs.
Our Regional Engagement & Implementation team members will continue to offer strategic guidance and support to Partner Districts to continue to develop and evolve their use of CaliforniaColleges.edu to advance their college and career readiness outcomes for students.
After bringing CaliforniaColleges.edu to their students, school districts will continue to receive year-round support from CCGI to ensure that the district, educators, students, and parents/guardians are able to effectively use the tools on the platform.
Educators, whether they have Basic or Partner Accounts, will have access to responsive, individualized support for any platform-related questions or issues they may encounter. These include help with account requests, platform functionality, user error resolution, student account registration, information on technical assistance, educator dashboard issues, and more.
Educators can reach a California College Guidance Initiative team member by completing and submitting a Contact Us inquiry.
Questions?
Interested in partnership?
Check out the steps on our How to Bring CaliforniaColleges.edu to Your School District page to get started.
Have more questions?
Submit a request using our Contact Us form expressing your district’s interest to learn more about partnership, and one of our team members will reach out to you.