Conference: Access Programs Will Increasingly Help Students Consider College: As the Obama administration continues its push to make America’s work force the most college-educated in the world, college access programs such as GEAR UP will play an increasingly crucial role in getting students to view themselves as college material.That was the message delivered Monday by a U.S. congressman, a top U.S. Education Department administrator and other proponents of GEAR UP at the annual National Council for Community and Education Partnerships/GEAR UP conference. GEAR UP is an acronym for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs.
“High aspirations, love and people who care is really the formula of GEAR UP and the formula for the Department of Education,” U.S. Undersecretary of Education Martha J. Kanter told the approximately 2,100 GEAR UP delegates from throughout the United States and U.S. territories attending the conference this week at the Washington Hilton.
