1. Bridging the Electronic Divide: A
Reflection on Year One of Naviance
eDocs
Joseph A. Tagliaferro
Coordinator of Student Support Services
Abington Senior High School
Abington, PA

2. Session Objectives
•Description of Abington Senior High School
•Overview of prior practice for college application process
•Steps to gain “buy-in” for eDocs from stakeholders
•Technology setup and challenges
•Rolling out eDocs to parents, students and staff
•Successes and challenges
•The plan for year two

3. Description of Abington
Senior High School

4. Abington Senior High School
•Located in suburban Philadelphia
•Approximately 1800 students
• 33% minority students
• Approximately 15% students with
IEPs
• Approximately 22% economically
disadvantaged
•90% of graduates attend post-secondary
schools
• 65% four-year institutions
• 25% two-year institutions/community
colleges

5. College Application Process pre-eDocs
•Approximately 2300 applications
processed per year
•Most students applied online
•Paper transcripts and letters of
recommendation printed
•Envelopes, stamps and postcards
•Lots of signatures and visits to the post
office!
•Logging of applications in Naviance by
counselors and secretaries
•Senior Survey completed through
Naviance

6. Frustrations
•Paper everywhere!
•Getting envelopes and stamps from the
seniors
•Maintaining accurate records
•Lost materials
•Time lost to signing documents
•Confidentiality

7. Laying the Foundation for
Change

8. The “Buy-in” Process
•Start within the department
•Submit formal proposal to building and
district administration
•Involve the Technology Department
•Solicit support from teachers who write
the most letters
•Cost-benefit analysis
•Present to Board of School Directors
•Use your professional network

9. Overcoming Fear of Technology
•Establish an internal “expert” panel
•Make contact with Naviance support
•Training for:
• Counselors
• Secretaries
• Teachers
• Tech department
• Students
• Parents

10. Technology Setup

11. Steps to Making eDocs “Live”
1. Download eDocs printer
2. Setup printer on counselor and secretary computers
3. Print a test transcript
4. Upload documents
5. Send a test packet to a college
6. Set up permissions for counselors, teachers and
secretaries
7. Determine process for students

12. Challenges
•Internal technical issues setting up the
eDocs printer
•Familiarizing users with components of
application packet for Common
Application, NACAC, etc.
•Trusting the process – make sure you
stay connected with your resources and
Naviance support

13. Rolling out eDocs to
students, parents and staff

14. Bringing the Faculty into the Picture
•Faculty meeting prior to the start of
school
•After-school meetings for staff
•Establish points of contact for questions
or procedural concerns
•Be willing to go the extra mile for
teachers as they familiarize themselves
with program
•Establish internal network of teachers
during the school year

15. Rolling out to Parents
•Send mailing prior to the start of school
•Set up an evening event during the first weeks of
school
•Use all technology means to publicize the new
procedure and any orientation meetings
• Website
• Social media
• “robo-call”

16. Rolling Out to Students
•Classroom presentations early in
the school year
•Be clear about the procedures
•Provide handouts or outlines for
each type of application
•Know your audience
•You will learn more from them than
they will from you!

17. Successes and Challenges

18. What Worked?
•Significant time savings for staff
•Where is all the paper?
•Immediate results
•Financial impact on department budget
•Facility of reporting for building administration
•Immediately embraced by all stakeholders

19. Challenges
•Teacher permissions and access
•Surrendering the process to the students
•Submission of teacher documents
•NCAA Clearinghouse documents
•Colleges with unique procedures or non-
subscribers

20. Looking Ahead

21. New for Year Two
•Expanded networking with local high schools
•Expanded use of technology to facilitate application
process
•Evening “parent panel” – have parents speak to
parents about eDocs

22. Questions?
Joseph Tagliaferro
Abington Senior High School
215-884-4700 x2366
taglja@abington.k12.pa.us

23. Your Feedback Matters!
Thank you for attending the
Naviance Summer Institute 2013!
We greatly appreciate your feedback, please
complete a brief evaluation for this session at:
http://go.naviance.com/evaluations