Phoenix College
Phoenix College
1202 West Thomas Road
Phoenix, AZ 85013
www.phoenixcollege.edu
PC Downtown
640 N. 1st Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85003
University
College
High School
Achieving a College
Education
Achieving a College
Education
Phoenix College and the Maricopa
County Community College District
are EEO/AA Institutions.
G O FA R , C L O S E T O H O M E .
Chandler-Gilbert Community College • Estrella Mountain Community College • GateWay Community College • Glendale Community College • Maricopa Skill Center • Mesa Community
College • Paradise Valley Community College • Phoenix College • Rio Salado College • Scottsdale Community College • South Mountain Community College • SouthWest Skill Center
PC ACE Brochure_FINAL_RETOUCH.indd 1
G O FA R , C L O S E T O H O M E .
8/25/11 10:25 AM
Jacklyn Angel
ACE Graduate
A 15-minute presentation during one of her classes
at Carl Hayden High School changed the course of
Jacklyn Angel’s life. As a representative spoke about the
benefits of the Phoenix College ACE (Achieving A College
Education) program, a light switch went on for Jacklyn.
“I realized that this could be my way to go to college,”
said Jacklyn, who is now 21 and a recent graduate of
ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass
Communication.
A brief history of the
Maricopa Achieving a
College Education Program
In 1987, the Maricopa County Community College
District (MCCCD) launched the Achieving a College
Education Program (ACE) at South Mountain Community
College. ACE is a collaborative program designed to
reduce dropouts among “at-risk” high school students
and transition them to community college and university
studies.
Achieving a College
Education Program
• Teen parent
Phoenix College Achieving a College
Education Program (PC ACE) is a
scholarship-based, early outreach
and college preparation program
for high school students. Students’
tuition is paid during
their participation in
the PC ACE Program.
The program is designed
to remove the “fear factor” of
college for high school students
who might be the first members of
their families to attend college and for
any student at risk of not enrolling and
succeeding in a college or university
environment.
Educators and community leaders were concerned with
two related problems: a high school dropout rate that
was too high, and college attendance that was too low.
Today, what was once a cause for concern has become
a full-blown crisis – one that ACE has demonstrated
remarkable success in addressing.
The PC ACE Program is a
collaborative effort involving the
students, family members, Phoenix
College, high schools, community
leaders, universities, businesses,
industry, and community foundations.
• At-risk factors can be:
• First generation to attend college
• Single parent home
• Underrepresented group
• Economic hardship
• Foster care
• Works 10+ hours per week
• Lives in temporary housing
ACE expanded to Glendale Community College in 1990
and, through federal funding in 2001, reached seven
other colleges within MCCCD. In 2004, MCCCD and
the Maricopa Community Colleges Foundation (MCCF)
committed to raise campaign funds to support Maricopa
ACE Programs across all MCCCD campuses. Jr. ACE
Programs began at four colleges in 2007 and expanded
to a fifth college in 2008. Also in 2007, the ACE Native
American Initiative began. A Rio Salado College online
program called ACE Puente began in 2009, taking
ACE to 10 high school programs, five middle school
programs, and one adult program.
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Phoenix College
Phoenix College - ACE Program
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Maggie Rodriguez, PC ACE Student
“In college, I plan to major in construction
management. After attaining all of the
skills necessary, I want to establish a
construction company of my own, where
I can, in turn, employ more women in
this very male based industry.“
Jacklyn began her studies at Phoenix
“The ACE program gives
College as a participant in the ACE
program when she was a high school
support and opportunity
junior. ACE students take concurrent
to students who want to
high school and college coursework
go to college but don’t
while participating in college
activities, and have the potential to
know how,” said Jacklyn.
earn up to 24 college credits while
“ACE is the ‘how’ of going
in high school. After high school
to college.”
graduation, students enroll full-time
at Phoenix College before eventually
transferring to a university to complete their degree.
Tuition for ACE students is fully covered during their
participation in the program. Because ACE takes place on
a college campus, students become more comfortable
with navigating through the higher education system
while they gain tools for their future success.
“The ACE program gives support and opportunity to
students who want to go to college but don’t know how,”
said Jacklyn. “ACE is the ‘how’ of going to college.”
Jacklyn believes the skills she learned in the program at
Phoenix College helped her succeed in her high school
classes. She credits the writing skills she developed with
giving her an edge when it came time to write personal
statements for scholarship applications. She also learned
about how to navigate the financial aid process far ahead
of her high school peers who did not participate in the
ACE program.
After finishing the PC ACE program, Jacklyn enrolled fulltime at Phoenix College, eventually choosing journalism
as her area of focus. As she approached graduation,
Jacklyn was selected to represent the Phoenix
College Class of 2008 as salutatorian at the annual
commencement ceremony. She not only had the honor
of addressing the crowd, but officially became the first
member of her family to graduate from college.
“My speech at the Phoenix College commencement
ceremony was an opportunity to make my mother
proud,” said Jacklyn, whose mother emigrated from
Mexico 25 years ago to provide a better life for her family.
“She taught me the essentials that drive me to thirst for
success and great opportunities,” said Jacklyn.
The ACE program is designed to alter students’
expectations of what they can achieve academically,
and Jacklyn serves as an outstanding example of the
program’s success.
Her recent graduation from ASU’s Cronkite School has
only motivated Jacklyn to do more. She plans to attend
graduate school, and will pursue her interest in becoming
a broadcaster for a Spanish language network. She
aspires to find ways to give back to the community,
specifically by reaching out to young people.
“I’d like to play a role in changing the cycles that I’ve
seen while growing up. Being a part of breaking the
cycles of teen pregnancy and early motherhood…
Finding ways to empower young Latinas,” said Jacklyn.
Asked what advice she would share with students,
Jacklyn counsels them to take advantage of the
opportunity to go to college that the ACE program
provides.
“Needing to know what you want to do for your major or
your career before you get to college is a misconception,”
she said. “I didn’t start college knowing what I wanted to
do. Just go to college, and it will unfold.” opportunity to
go to college that the ACE program provides.
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8/25/11 10:26 AM
Why is PC ACE Important?
PC ACE, along with the other Maricopa ACE Programs, helps solve
two related problems that have created a crisis in Arizona:
The Campus
1. Arizona has the nation’s highest high school dropout rate.
27% of Arizona’s high school class of 2002 failed to graduate. In
the 2002-03 school year 31,209 students dropped out statewide,
17,469 from Maricopa County alone.
Phoenix College is centrally located
and offers perhaps one of the most unique settings
among the Maricopa County Community Colleges.
Here, on a beautiful tree-lined campus, historic red brick
buildings blend with modern structures to create a warm
and intimate private college feel.
Academics
The PC ACE Program academic focus is on the Arizona
General Education Curriculum (AGEC), which fulfills
lower-division general education requirements for
students planning to transfer to any Arizona public
community college or university. PC ACE classes
are college level courses taught by Phoenix College
professors and meet the national standards for higher
learning. These courses satisfy the freshman and
sophomore requirements of the baccalaureate degree at
universities in Arizona and across the United States.
Arizona Department of Education Statistics
2. Arizona’s college attendance rate is one of the lowest in the
nation. Nationally 63% of high school graduates enroll in college¹.
In Arizona 28% of high school graduates enroll in college².
¹ National Center for Education Statistics 2003
² National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education
Junior ACE
ACE stands for “Achieving a College Education.”
JR ACE targets students entering 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th
grades interested in taking Math, Science, or Technology
classes and a College Survival course.
JR ACE is a five week program that runs for the first
summer session. Students earn up to 6 college credits.
The program focuses on core areas that develop
academic skills needed for college and university
Essentials of ACE
• Academic Advising
• Assessment
• Career Exploration
• College Preparation and Application Assistance
• Enrichment Seminars
• Financial Aid and Scholarship Workshops
• Mentoring
• Parent/Guardian Workshops
• Summer and University Bridge Programs
success.
JR ACE is a pathway to the ACE program. Students
can earn up to 18 transferable college credits while
participating in JR ACE. Once students complete JR
ACE, they have the option to continue their college
education by participating in the ACE program. In the
end, students can earn up to 42 transferable college
How Education Impacts Income
Percent Increase
Above High
School Graduate
credits by the time they graduate from high school.
Educational
Level
Annual
Salary
Students’ tuition is paid in full during their participation in
Not high school graduate
$15,570-
High school graduate/G.E.D.
$22,481
-
Some college, no degree
$23,966
7%
Associate Degree
$30,394
35%
Bachelor’s Degree
$40,347
79%
Master’s Degree
$50,575
125%
Professional Degree
$76,564240%
Doctorate Degree
$71,555
the JR ACE program.
• Tutoring and Study Skills Workshops
For more Information, contact:
Phoenix College ACE Program
(602) 285-7743
ace@pcmail.maricopa.edu
218%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Median Earnings, 2003
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8/25/11 10:26 AM
Andrea Palomares,
PC ACE Parent
”Before ACE, we struggled very much in searching
for the perfect program that would assist my children
in not only furthering their education, but in guiding
them through the traits they need to become wise
decision-making college students. It wasn’t enough
for me to just let them settle in a program that would
provide them with financial aid, but I wanted to find
an institution that would support my children with
their unanswered questions of college life, a friendly
service that would never turn my child away from
the education they needed to get through college as
comfortably as possible, and ACE made it happen. I
would like to thank Mr. Rody Randon for his loyalty
to the program and its members. His kind-hearted
devotion to my children’s future will never be
forgotten.”
Dagoberto Bailon, PC ACE Student
“Through the ACE program I was also able to make
many new friends that had the same ideals as I, and
to this day we are still good friends.”
HIGH SCHOOL
Program Structure
The PC ACE Program is designed to help at-risk
students make smooth transitions at the important
junctures between high school and community
college, and from community college to the
university, ultimately leading students to the
completion of a baccalaureate degree. Students are
eligible to apply to the PC ACE Program during their
first semester as a high school sophomore. Once
accepted into the program the students follow a
2+2+2 model:
2 years of high school and concurrent community
college courses +
2 years of community college
course work +
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MARICOPA COMMUNITY COLLEGES
11
12
Students are recruited Earn college credits on Earn college credits on
an MCCCD campus on an MCCCD campus on
for ACE in the
Saturdays during junior Saturdays during junior
sophomore year
year
year
The first summer
students earn college
credits at an MCCCD
campus
UNIVERSITY
Freshman
Sophomore
Junior
Students focus on
Associate’s degrees,
certificates, and/or
transfer to a four-year
institution
Students complete
community college
work and transfer to
the university
Students work toward
their degree
The second summer
students earn college
credits at an MCCCD
campus.
Senior
Students complete
their Bachelor’s
degree
University Faculty
taught course at
community college.
Parent Involvement
Parent workshops are provided during the two years of the program.
2 years of university course work
Students take classes Monday through Thursday
during the summer semester and on Saturdays
during the fall and spring semesters. This program
enables high school students to earn up to 24
college credits while still in high school.
High School
PC ACE Graduate
2
4
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+
Community College
Graduate
2
+
University
Graduate
2
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