FAQs for Close the Deal
Please contact Summer Gortney at KHEAA at (502) 759-0798 or sgortney@kheaa.com if you have any questions or need additional information. You may also reach out to your KHEAA Outreach Counselor. If you do not know who your outreach counselor is, click here.
KHEAA welcomes schools to continue to register to participate in Close the Deal after the May 31st deadline. However, schools that register after the deadline should know that availability of KHEAA staff to help during a Close the Deal event will be harder to secure. Regardless of when your school registers online, you will still have access to the free online resources and will receive program news and updates.
As primary sponsor of the Close the Deal program, KHEAA would like to track which schools are participating in Close the Deal, for reporting purposes. The May registration deadline also allows KHEAA Outreach staff enough time to accommodate requests to participate in events for the following school year.
Every school’s Close the Deal event will look different. There is no right or wrong way to host a Close the Deal event, but there are some minimum expectations to being a host site. Some of the responsibilities of the site coordinator may include:
- Working with teachers or other school personnel to ensure students complete the appropriate activities prior to the event such as researching careers and colleges and preparing questions to ask volunteer speakers during the event.
- Reserving the appropriate location where the event will be held (typically gym or auditorium, and possibly some nearby classrooms).
- Ensuring an appropriate number of admission, financial aid and community and business volunteers for the event, depending on the size and format.
- Developing a schedule for the day of the event to ensure all students will have the opportunity to participate and that sufficient volunteers will be available for the duration of the event.
In order to participate in Close the Deal, a school is encouraged to register its event and identify a Close the Deal site coordinator. The site coordinator serves as primary organizer of all activities at that school and will be the primary contact person for any news, information or updates sent by KHEAA. Schools and organizations can register for Close the Deal and identify their site coordinator by visiting our registration page.
KHEAA asks that any school or organization that plans to participate in Close the Deal complete a simple online registration form. This allows KHEAA to know which schools are participating in order to provide them with program news and updates, as well as to offer support. You can register by visiting our registration page.
KHEAA does not have a cost to participate. Depending on the size and scope of the event a school chooses to host, there may be costs for decorations or refreshments. Schools are encouraged to use school resources or community donations to help cover these expenses. KHEAA provides online materials and other informational resources to schools at no charge.
There is not a designated week or month during which schools must host a Close the Deal program. The goal of Close the Deal is to make the resources available and allow schools and organizations the flexibility to host a program when it works best for them. The ideal timing for the program would be spring of junior year or early fall of senior year.
The Close the Deal program helps Kentucky high school juniors and seniors make the transition into college by assisting them with the admissions and financial aid processes. During the event, community and business leaders work with students in setting and meeting goals for college and their future careers. College admission and financial aid professionals are also brought in to share information about how to navigate the admission and financial aid processes.
Close the Deal was originated in Louisville, KY in 2008 by then Mayor Jerry Abramson. When Abramson became Lt. Governor of Kentucky in 2012, he worked to spread the program statewide. Since then approximately 20 schools throughout Kentucky have implemented the Close the Deal program as a part of their college access programming. Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority (KHEAA) took over sponsorship of the program in 2015.
FAQs for Kentucky College Application Campaign
Please contact Summer Gortney at KHEAA at (502) 759-0798 or sgortney@kheaa.com if you have any questions or need additional information. You may also reach out to your KHEAA Outreach Counselor. If you do not know who your outreach counselor is, click here.
KHEAA welcomes schools to continue to register to participate in the Kentucky College Application Campaign after the May 31st deadline. However, schools that register after the deadline are not guaranteed to receive promotional materials. After the deadline, any remaining promotional materials will be distributed to schools on a first-come, first-served basis until supplies are exhausted. Any school that registers online will still have access to the free online resources and will receive program news and updates.
As primary sponsor of the Kentucky College Application Campaign, KHEAA is pleased to provide each school that registers by the deadline a small selection of promotional materials. The May registration deadline allows for enough time to order and distribute materials to participating schools before events begin in the fall.
Every school’s college application event will look different. There is no right or wrong way to host a Kentucky College Application Campaign event, but there are some minimum expectations to being a host site. Some of the responsibilities of the site coordinator may include:
- Working with teachers or other school personnel to ensure students complete the appropriate activities prior to the event such as researching colleges, gathering necessary demographic data for applications, writing admission essays, gathering letters of recommendation, etc.
- Reserving the appropriate location where the event will be held (typically a computer lab or media center)
- Ensuring an appropriate number of working, internet-ready computers and printers will be available during the event
- Developing a schedule for the day(s) of the event to ensure all students will have the opportunity to participate and that sufficient volunteers will be available for the duration of the event
- Identifying volunteers to help make your event a success
- Gathering data during the event (typically number of students participating and number of applications completed) and sharing that data with KHEAA upon event completion
In order to participate in the Kentucky College Application Campaign, a school must register its event and identify a site coordinator. The site coordinator serves as the primary organizer of all activities at that school and will be the primary contact person for any news, information or updates sent by KHEAA. Schools and organizations can register for the Kentucky College Application Campaign and identify their site coordinator by visiting our registration page.
You can register your school or program by visiting our registration page.
There is NO cost to participate. This program is designed to be a no-cost event that any school or organization can easily implement. KHEAA provides some promotional and other informational materials to schools at no charge. In past years promotional materials have included student folders, promotional posters, and “I applied” stickers.
Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority (KHEAA) is the primary sponsor of the Kentucky College Application Campaign. In addition to the resources provided on this website, KHEAA also provides promotional materials to participating schools and has outreach counselors available on a first-come, first-served basis to help schools implement the program.
There is not a designated week or month during which schools must host a program. The goal of the Kentucky College Application Campaign is to make the resources available and allow schools and organizations the flexibility to host a program when it works best for them. Most schools choose to have a college application program in the fall of senior year. In past years, the month of November has been declared National College Application Month.
The Kentucky College Application Campaign is part of the American College Application Campaign initiative, which focuses on providing graduating high school seniors the opportunity to receive assistance and support in filling out college admission applications. For many students, particularly those who do not have an immediate family member who attended college, applying to college can seem overwhelming. For those students, not having someone who can help them navigate the college application process can be enough to prevent them from pursuing a postsecondary education. By implementing a College Application Campaign program, we can ensure that all seniors have the opportunity to receive hands–on assistance as they take the first big step towards continuing their education following high school.
Kentucky piloted the program under the name College Application Week in November 2011 with 13 pilot schools across the state. During the 2015 program, over 180 high schools across the state conducted a college application event, and more than 20,000 students participated in activities.