The Texas OnCourse Educator Blog

2020 has been full of unique challenges for educators and students. Many of you are juggling shifting deadlines, new enrollment processes, and new systems for sending students to college this year. In our September 2020 webinar, we break down how to help students plan for college during COVID-19 and share resources to keep you on track. More resources like those in this webinar can be found in the Texas OnCourse Academy under College Costs, Admissions and Application Process, and Financial Aid Application Process.

In our first monthly webinar of the 2020–2021 school year, over 375 educators from across the state registered to tap into an open discussion on back to school during COVID-19. We covered CCMR updates and tools for accountability, data-driven strategies for programs, and Texas OnCourse resources that can enhance remote teaching, counseling, and advising practices.

Webinar Highlights: Making Careers Matter in Middle School

No time to watch? Below, we summarize key information and include links to resources from the webinar.

In this webinar, you’ll learn strategies to effectively advise high school students who are taking college courses, with support from the College Credits learning module in the Texas OnCourse Academy. Hear from our sister initiative, OnRamps, about their innovative college credit program and how you can best support your participating students. 

For information on college application system updates for the 2021–22 application cycle, please refer to our webinar on Adjusting to College Planning under COVID-19.

This webinar from August 2019 features updates and tips from popular college application systems like ApplyTexas and Common App as well as educator advice on implementing a strong college application completion culture from leader fellow Will Collins at Humble ISD.

Be prepared for the college application season! In this free webinar from April 2019, we explore college application essays, writing samples, and resumes. The webinar features tips and resources drawn from the Texas OnCourse Academy. We also connect you with representatives from the Common Application and ApplyTexas to keep you in the loop on what's new with these tools.

Students who move frequently, including children of military families or migrant workers, face unique needs and challenges. In this webinar, we walk you through our free online module to help you advise and support highly-mobile students all over the U.S. We were joined during this webinar by experts from the Military Child Education Coalition and TEA.

In this webinar on assessments and test-taking strategies, we explore college entrance exams like the SAT, ACT and TSIA – from student preparation to administration. For even more info on exams like these, visit our Admissions Tests guide. We welcome Martha Morris and Aya Takemoto from the College Board and Sauda Callahan from the ACT, who bring us exam and resource updates.

The scholarship application process can often be just as cumbersome as the application process. During this webinar from January 2019, Texas OnCourse staff highlight helpful advising resources from the scholarship learning module in the Texas OnCourse Academy. These resources, together with information about scholarships at Texas A&M University and through the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, will be helpful no matter when you view this webinar.