The Rochester College Access Network

What would it take to give every Rochester city student the opportunity to attend and graduate from college? The Rochester College Access Network -- formed in 2013 as a program of Rochester Education Foundation -- is a collaborative effort working to give students that opportunity here in the Flower City.

For updated information about RCAN, and a wealth of information for students and families please go to our college-access website at RochesterCAN.org

RCAN also presented FAFSA FEST 2015, special events in Rochesterwhich provided free help for students to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. About 200 applications were submitted during the four events held throughout the city in February 2015.

Click here to visit our collection of resources about going to college for Rochester students and their families.

Our mission: The Rochester College Access Network supports college access and success through communication, coalition and advocacy for students in Rochester to enable students to meet their full potential.

Why is this important? Our Rochester city students are less likely to go to college or graduate from college than other students in New York State. In fact, only 17 percent of RCSD students graduated from a four-year college from graduating classes of 2003 to 2007 - compared to 64 percent in New York State.

The Rochester College Access Network has worked with Rochester City School District to create the following baseline report on city student college access and success. Most of the information was obtained because Rochester City School District joined a national registry tracking where students go to college and whether they graduate. We are determined to change the picture in the report below through our work:

RCSD Student College Access & Success Information, May 2014

What will it take to improve access to college for city students? Our focus is to support students by:

Photo: Ken Huth

The RCAN program aims to provide easier access to college for students in the Rochester City School District.

• Setting community goals for college-going
• Emphasizing the advantages of a college degree, including employment, monetary benefits and personal fulfillment
• Marketing information about college, opportunities and requirements for college entry to parents, students, counselors, schools, and the community
• Providing resources to young people
• Sharing knowledge and expertise about college access and retention possessed by RCAN members, parents, students and community
• Identifying and filling needs of parents, students, the RCSD, and network members
• Improving the cooperation and collaboration between existing programs, opportunities, services and associations

We are targeting 6th-12th graders in the Rochester City School District, but we will not exclude city residents who are enrolled in charter or other schools.

Our RCAN partners include:

• The Rochester City School District.
• Local colleges and universities: Bryant & Stratton College, Monroe Community College, Nazareth College, Rochester Institute of Technology, St. John Fisher College, State University of New York at Geneseo, The College at Brockport: State University of New York, and the University of Rochester.
• Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection, Ibero-American Action League, Urban League, Rochester Area Community Foundation, and United Way.
• Advocates for students in a variety of professions.

For more about the college access needs of Rochester city students, please take a look at the report on the topic that REF created for the Rochester Area Community Foundation in 2013: Success for Rochester City Students: Making College Attainable

Support the Program

We welcome the support of businesses and individuals who are committed to improving college access for city youth. Use the button at right to make a donation in support of the Rochester College Access Network. Want to talk about other ways to support this work? Call us at 271-5790 today!

Thanks to Excellus and Rochester Area Community Foundation for their generous support of RCAN.