An editorial from the Times West Virginian
FAIRMONT, W.Va. — HYH? There’s a GR8 new program that helps students IRL as they prepare for college.
If you’re having trouble deciphering that sentence, it’s probably because you haven’t grown up in an age when text messaging on cellphones is the primary form of communication. (And for those still scratching their heads, the first line reads: “Have you heard? There’s a great new program that helps students in real life as they prepare for college.”)
It also probably means you aren’t the target audience for the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission’s pilot project that will help high school seniors prepare for college and begin their freshman year of higher education.
The text message support project, which has not yet been officially named, has two main goals: to remind students of deadlines and important steps in the college application process, and to provide them with support and answers to any questions they have along the way. The project is a twist on traditional methods used to help students plan and prepare to move on to higher education.
We think it’s a brilliant way of keeping students engaged as they navigate what can be some of the busiest months of their school careers…