University of California, Berkeley - Destination College Advising Corps FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (2020-21)

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1. What does it mean to be a DCAC College Adviser Fellow? DCAC provides College Adviser Fellows an opportunity to gain experiential learning by providing Fellows with significant hands-on field experience in education and college access. Fellows receive training, professional development, supervision, and coaching to provide college preparation assistance to underrepresented, first-generation, and low-income high school students. Fellows complete their service on a full-time basis at a DCAC partner site. DCAC has a strong public service ethic dedicated to educational equity and a high performing culture that supports outstanding service to high school students in order to increase college readiness, access, and success. While this is a fellowship experience, DCAC has high expectations of Fellows which requires that professional standards and service goals be met. Each College Adviser Fellow will have an opportunity to receive performance feedback twice a year from their Regional Manager. This two-year fellowship is 10 months in duration which begins on August 1st and ends on May 31st of each year.

For a general explanation of what a fellowship is, you can visit the UC Berkeley Career Center’s website at https://career.berkeley.edu/InfoLab/Fellow.

2. What are some benefits and challenges of being a DCAC College Adviser Fellow?

Benefits • Amazing opportunity to work in-depth with and

impact the lives of underrepresented, first-generation and low-income high school students.

• Opportunity to work in a Professional Learning Community that may reflect your own experience. (Some of our Fellows have worked in their high school alma maters!)

• Multiple professional development opportunities. (See question #3 for more information)

• Ongoing coaching and support from Regional Managers.

• Opportunity to significantly build resume, competencies, and skills.

• Networking opportunities with K-12 educators and administrators, non-profit professionals and higher education professionals and policy makers.

• After the two-year DCAC fellowship, many of our Fellows have been offered positions at our partner high schools, Community Based Organizations, community colleges, and 4-year universities.

• The opportunity to utilize 4 to 8 hours/month for graduate and career exploration or to complete graduate school applications; DCAC provides a minimum of two workshops/panels per semester.

• DCAC Alumni have attended graduate schools, such as Columbia, Harvard, NYU, Mills, SF State, Stanford, UC Berkeley, UCLA, USC, and USF.

• An alumni network of College Adviser Fellows; opportunity to join the Destination College Alumni Association (DCAA) Board of Directors; eligibility to apply for the DCAA Scholarship for graduate school.

Challenges • Training days can be long but are informative and

content rich. • Managing time to complete service

requirements, complete data entry, and meet the needs/requests of site partners.

• Completing multiple projects with competing deadlines.

• College Adviser Fellows may have limited funds for student activities.

• Working evening and weekend events when necessary.

• Providing classroom guidance. • Working with high-need student populations that

require a lot of high-quality support, assistance, and resources in order to meet their potential.

• Complex school environments and political dynamics.

• A significant amount of data entry and documentation of services is required of College Adviser Fellows.

• College Adviser Fellows have to be flexible and may have to adjust hours. There will be peak seasons during the school year when Fellows will increase their service hours to meet the needs of students. For example, during October and November, Fellows may need to complete more than 40 service hours a week but can work with their Regional Manager to determine opportunities for restorative time.

University of California, Berkeley - Destination College Advising Corps FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (2020-21)

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3. What types of training and professional events are required for the College Adviser Fellows? College Adviser Fellows are expected to attend: CAC & DCAC Program and Regional Trainings: 4-week DCAC College Advising Institute in August (includes training sessions provided by experts in education and youth development and customized trainings provided by Regional Managers), a 1 to 2 day mid-year training, year-end training, and the national CAC Adviser Summit which takes place in December. Statewide Trainings in Local Region: UC Counselor Conference, CSU Counselor Conference, and the California Student Aid Commission FAFSA and Cal Grant Training. Region Specific Trainings: Regional Manager led trainings, CEP-OUA Symposium, Counselor Breakfasts, and additional conferences/professional development as determined by the Director/Regional Manager. School Site/District Professional Development Days/Workshops: College Adviser Fellows may be invited by school or district partners to attend professional development opportunities. Regional Managers will approve which school site PD’s College Adviser Fellows will attend. 4. What attire is required for College Adviser Fellows? College Adviser Fellows are expected to dress in business casual attire during trainings, at their school site, and work events. Professional attire may be required on occasion. 5. How much graduate school and career exploration/support does DCAC provide to College Adviser Fellows? While the main focus of DCAC is to provide hands-on college access field experience, training, and support to high school students, DCAC provides Fellows with opportunities for graduate school and career exploration. Specifically, DCAC allows Fellows to utilize 4 to 8 hours a month for graduate school research/planning and application completion (with prior approval from Regional Manager). Additionally, DCAC provides a minimum of 2 workshops/panels per semester on graduate school and/or career topics. 6. What type of guidance and support will College Adviser Fellows receive? College Adviser Fellows will be under the direction of a Regional Manager. College Adviser Fellows are expected to uphold professional expectations, such as completion of projects and specific services, punctuality, and professionalism. Regional Managers will not be at the school sites daily but require check-ins and updates as needed. Regional Managers provide routine school site visits and observations of school site activities. While Regional Managers perform a variety of roles, they are expected to manage, coach, and provide professional development to Fellows and monitor the implementation of the DCAC Service Goals. 7. Do College Adviser Fellows receive health benefits? College Adviser Fellows are eligible to receive health, dental, and vision insurance benefits through DCAC if they are not already covered under a health insurance policy. College Adviser Fellows can enroll in health insurance through DCAC at any time during the duration of the fellowship. College Adviser Fellows who continue for a second year of service with DCAC will receive health insurance coverage over the summer. 8. When do College Adviser Fellows receive their living allowance stipends and are taxes deducted from the stipends? College Adviser Fellows will receive a $2,710 monthly living allowance stipend for a total of 10 months of each fellowship year. Upon successful completion of each 10-month term of service, Fellows are eligible to receive a $4,000 Year-End Award in June. Each monthly living allowance stipend is disbursed sometime during the last two weeks of the month served. Taxes are not deducted from the monthly stipends or the Year-End Award. Since this is a taxable fellowship, College Adviser Fellows are advised to consult with a tax expert to report their fellowship stipends and Year-End Award.

PROGRAM INFORMATION

PROGRAM SERVICES

The UC Berkeley Destination College Advising Corps (DCAC) recruits and trains recent college graduates to serve as full-time College Adviser Fellows (CAFs) in partner school sites throughout California. CAFs take part in an intensive College Advising Institute in the summer prior to their placement and bene�t from ongoing training and coaching from seasoned college access professionals. CAFs spend 1 to 2 years gaining experiential learning through signi�cant hands-on �eld experience in education and college access. CAFs provide college preparation assistance to low-income, �rst-generation, and underrepresented high school students. DCAC has a strong public service ethic and a high performing culture that supports outstanding service to high school students in order to increase college readiness, access, and success. We are positively impacting the face of education by preparing our CAFs to be future educators and leaders.

In 2007, DCAC was launched as one of the original (National) College Advising Corps (CAC) chapters funded by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation and began with 2 College Adviser Fellows in 2 partner high schools in Solano County. Currently, DCAC is fully integrated with the Early Academic Outreach Program and Solano County Educational Consortium to oversee 48 DCAC Advisers serving over 40,000 high school students at 42 partner sites in Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, and Solano counties. DCAC is funded by CAC, partner programs, districts and schools.

INDIVIDUAL STUDENTSERVICES

WHOLE-SCHOOLSERVICES

DISTRICT, COMMUNITY & FAMILY SERVICES

• Individual Academic Advisingand College Planning

• Transcript Evaluations

• College Test Registration

• College Application

Assistance

• Financial Aid and

Scholarship ApplicationAssistance

• College Campus Visits

• College Application Campaignand Services

• FAFSA/Dream Act Campaignand Services

• Community College Campaignand Services

• Parent/Family Event(s)

• College Campus Visit, CollegeFair and/or CollegePresentations

• Drop-in College Advising

• College Preparation andFinancial Aid Workshops

• College/Financial Aid/Scholarship informationalHandouts, Brochures,Applications, etc.

• Large scale-college focusedevents and programming toincrease college awareness/knowledge and college goingculture.

Destination College Advising CorpsUniversity of California, Berkeley1 Hearst Field Annex, Building CBerkeley, CA 94720-1060

OURMISSION

DCAC increases college access for low-income, �rst generation and

underrepresented high school students by

placing highly trained, recent

college graduates in schools as full

time College Adviser Fellows.

UC Berkeley • College Advising Corps • ACE Charter • Antioch High School • Aspire Lionel Wilson Preparatory Academy •

Berkeley Uni�ed School District • BOOST@Berkeley Haas • Castlemont High

School • Dixon Uni�ed School District • Downtown College Prep - El Primero • East

Bay College Fund • East Side Union High School District • Emery High School • Hayward Promise • Hayward Uni�ed

School District • Jesse Bethel High School • Leadership Public Schools - Hayward •

Leadership Public Schools - Oakland R&D • Leo M. Shortino Family Foundation •

Lighthouse Community Charter School • New Haven Uni�ed School District •

Oakland High School • Oakland Uni�ed School District • O�ce of African

American Male Achievement • Pittsburg Uni�ed School District • San Jose Uni�ed

School District • San Leandro Uni�ed School District • San Lorenzo Uni�ed

School District • UC Berkeley Chancellor’s Community Fund • Vacaville Uni�ed

School District • West Contra Costa Uni�ed School District

PROGRAMPARTNERS

PROGRAMSPONSORS

Website:Email:Phone:Fax:

dcac.berkeley.edudcac@berkeley.edu(510) 664-7276(510) 643-5827 @berkeleydcac

2019 - 2020

Solano

Contra Costa

Alameda

Santa Clara

Solano CountyJasmine Ramirez-Barba- Dixon HS

Elizabeth Potts- Vacaville HSAudrey Poltorak - Will C. Wood HS

Alameda CountyJaime Lopez

- Aspire Lionel Wilson Preparatory AcademyJulia Maciel - Berkeley HSFatima Andrade Martinez - BOOST@Berkeley Haas

Natalie Barraza & Tanzania Jimmerson - Castlemont HS

Bianca Herrera - Emery HSPatricia Razo- Hayward HS

Anthony Taylor O’Brien - James Logan HSNetsay Ramos

- Lighthouse Community Charter HSMayra Santoyo - LPS Hayward HS

Jessica Sanchez - LPS Oakland R&DJanay Osborne- McClymonds HS

Vanessa Harvey - Mt. Eden HSKendall Owens & Thalia Rodriguez

- Oakland HSMarvin Baclig - Oakland Technical HS

Elizabeth Collazo - San Leandro HSRogelio Medrano - San Lorenzo HS

Susana Villegas-Rodriguez - Skyline HSStacy Feng - Tennyson HS

Arnold Lopez - The Hidden Genius Project

Santa Clara CountyJohana Cortez-Hernandez &

Luis Murguia Rodriguez- Abraham Lincoln HS

Jacqueline Valdivias Trujillo - ACE Charter HSAlejandra Diaz Mireles - Andrew Hill HS

Victor Negrete- Downtown College Prep - El Primero HS

Génesis Correa-Dávilla & Oscar Murguia Zepeda- Gunderson HS

Emilio Sanchez - James Lick HSNyia Roberts - Leland HS

Van Nguyen - Oak Grove HSYesenia Matias Chavez - Pioneer HS

Brenda Recinos - San Jose HSLianne Aratea - William C. Overfelt HS

Audrey Ayala- Willow Glen HS

Teresa Castro - Yerba Buena HS

Contra Costa County

Briggitte Bolaños Vieyra- Antioch HS

Briana Martinez- Aspire RichmondCalifornia College

Preparatory AcademyPaola Gutierrez

- De Anza HSCameron Schmidt-Temple

- Deer Valley HSJanice Le

- El Cerrito HSFabiola Camacho

- Freedom HSChyna Oyola- Hercules HSTony Morales

- John F. Kennedy HSElizabeth Garcia- LPS Richmond

Luis Yataco - Mt. Diablo HS

Stephanie Zambrano- Pinole Valley HS

Jose “Freddy” Garcia, Erika Guerra & Angel Remirez - Pittsburg HSJesenia Padilla

- Summit K2Monica Mendieta

- Richmond HS

ACE Charter High School; Anonymous Donor ; Antioch High School; Aspire Lionel Wilson Preparatory Academy; Boost @ Berkeley Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley; Berkeley Unified School District; Castlemont High School; Center for Educational Partnerships; Chamberlin Family Foundation; College Advising Corps; Downtown College

Prep - El Primero High School; Dixon High School; East Bay College Fund; East Side Union High School District; Emery High School; Haas Junior Fund; Hayward Unified School District; Hayward Promise; New Haven Unified School District; Lighthouse Community Charter School; Leadership Public Schools -Oakland R&D; Leadership Public Schools

-Hayward; Leo M. Shortino Family Foundation; Oakland High School; Oakland Promise; Pittsburg Unified School District; San Jose Unified School District; San Leandro Unified School District; San Lorenzo Unified School District; UC Berkeley Chancellor’s Fund; UC Office of the President; Vacaville Unified School District; West Contra Costa Unified

DCAC Program Sponsors