Acting Asst. Education Prof. Ben Castleman partnered with the Workforce Competitiveness and the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission to develop a text messaging service to help high school students apply for college.
Castleman developed the service for “Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs,” part of the GEAR UP federal grant program aimed at increasing the number of low-income students in higher education.
The texting service will offer counseling services and school information to high school students going through the college application process, as well as to students through their first year of college.
“The initial texts will be common across all students — for instance, reminding students to complete federal financial aid applications — but eventually the messages will be customized to individual students,” Castleman said in an email. “While students may not have a nearby college counselor, many do have cell phones.”
Although there are currently no plans to implement such a program at the University, Castleman said it could expand if the pilot program is successful.
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