CaliforniaColleges.edu Summer Updates
As part of our continuous improvement of CaliforniaColleges.edu to meet the needs of students and educators, the California College Guidance Initiative (CCGI) made several updates to the platform this summer. Click the blue bars below to expand each section and read the associated updates.
UC Application Integration Update
We’re excited to share that students with Partner Accounts can now import their Course Management Portal (CMP)-verified A-G courses and grades from CaliforniaColleges.edu to their UC Application! This new update will help reduce the time required to submit an application and helps prevent errors that can delay or deny admission. Please note:
- The student’s A-G courses in their Academic Planner must be verified against the CMP in order to be imported.
- If an A-G course listed in the Academic Planner does not match against the course listed by the district in the CMP, it will not be imported into the application.
CSU and UC Application Information Tabs
CCGI updated the Academic Planner of students with Partner Accounts to introduce updates to the CSU Application Info tab and a new UC Application Info tab. Upon logging in and accessing their Academic Planner, students with Partner Accounts can now click on either tab to get guidance on what they should look for in their Cal State Apply and/or UC Application, along with a clear outline of potential errors (e.g., missing courses, community college courses and other courses that need special attention).
Download and Print CSU and UC Eligibility Progress Per Student for Partner Districts
To make it easier for educators to review students’ CSU and UC Eligibility progress, we made it possible to download and print students’ individual CSU and UC Eligibility reports. Now, educators can bulk-print and distribute the PDF reports of students’ CSU and UC Eligibility progress to help you better inform your students’ course selections and to start their college application processes. This will also help you conduct your work when internet access is not readily available.
Updates to the “What are students’ current college eligibility and application statuses?” Educator Report
We made updates to the educator report titled “What are students’ current college eligibility and application statuses?” (under the Applications category) to provide more clarity to educators as the college application season approaches. Please note, this report is only available to Partner Educator Account holders in high school sites. As part of the updates, we:
- Added a column displaying students’ “FAFSA/CADAA Status.”
- Renamed the report to “Download Only: Current College Eligibility and Application Statuses.”
- Renamed some existing column headers to display “Completed” UC Application or CCCApply Application (instead of “Submitted”).
- Included “Never” as a status to “Last Login Date” to help distinguish students who registered via Single-Sign-On (SSO) but who never actually logged in to CaliforniaColleges.edu.
Expanding the Accessibility Menu with Language Translation
We expanded the Accessibility Menu to include language translation, in addition to existing options that allow for a screen reader, increasing contrast, adjusting text size and spacing, and others. That said, if you prefer using Google Translate to translate CaliforniaColleges.edu, you can still do so! Check out our How to Translate CaliforniaColleges.edu Using Google Translate tutorial for instructions.
Simplifying the Student Account Registration Process
We simplified the student user experience by making the Student Account registration flow the same for both Partner Student Accounts and Basic Student Accounts. Now, students with Basic Accounts only need to enter their Statewide Student Identifier (SSID) or Local ID, as well as date of birth, after they select their district and school. Check out our How to Register Your Student Account tutorial for an overview of the registration process for students.
To support the data elements that our many system integrations rely on, all CaliforniaColleges.edu Student Accounts now require students’ SSID.
- For schools whose students have Partner Accounts, the SSID and related student information is provided to CCGI by your district’s data file.
- For schools whose students have Basic Accounts, this information is provided by the California Department of Education (CDE), based on the district’s most recent CALPADS submission.
The impacts of this change are described below.
Educators’ Ability to Create and Edit Student Accounts
Previously, Partner Educator Account and Basic Educator Account holders with certain user roles (i.e., Counselors, Multi-Site Counselors, Site Admins, and District Admins) were able to create Student Accounts. Student Accounts can now only be created by either using student data shared directly with CCGI by the California Department of Education (CDE) for Basic Accounts, or a CCGI Partner District for Partner Accounts. Since Student Accounts are now being generated via files from CDE or CCGI Partner Districts, educators cannot create and edit Student Accounts manually to ensure that:
- All student data on CaliforniaColleges.edu comes from a verified data source (CDE or CCGI Partner District student files), ensuring that Student Accounts are generated using verified data files;
- Student Account duplication and other errors introduced by manual entry are reduced/removed; and
- All Student Accounts on CaliforniaColleges.edu are tied to a student’s Statewide Student Identifier (SSID), allowing their activity and data on CaliforniaColleges.edu to follow them regardless of district.
Students’ Ability to Edit Certain Fields in Their “My Account”
Previously, students with Basic Accounts were allowed to edit the District, School, and Grade Level fields in their “My Account.” Since all Student Accounts are now being generated via files from CDE (Basic Student Accounts) or CCGI Partner Districts (Partner Student Accounts), these students can no longer edit the District, School, and Grade Level fields in their “My Account.” Additionally, certain Student Accounts can no longer confirm or change schools using the school picker modal upon logging in to the platform. Note, this change has no impact on the student’s ability to access or use the tools on CaliforniaColleges.edu.
CCGI made these changes in part to prevent any errors that could be introduced by manual entry of this information. Moving forward, information regarding district, school site, and grade level will be supplied by the verified student file from CDE that was used to generate the Basic Student Account.
As always, we thank you for your continued partnership and use of CaliforniaColleges.edu. Make sure to bookmark the CaliforniaColleges.edu Resource Hub News page to stay updated on enhancements to CaliforniaColleges.edu!