TxCAN will be hosting an Inaugural Pitch Competition during NCAN this fall and you can be a part of it! Learn more about the pitch competition and how you can help the advancement of postsecondary success for students in Texas.

TxCAN is searching for scalable and high-impact college access practices. To complete this search, a pitch competition is happening during this year’s National College Attainment Network (NCAN) Conference and submissions are now open for participation. The conference itself is in Dallas on October 16-18. TxCAN will cover finalists’ travel costs, conference registration, meals, and accommodation costs for up to two presenters. The winner of the pitch competition will also receive $5,000 to further their college access work.

Why does this matter? 

“We are looking for effective practices (EP) that are not necessarily just for a specific population, but that can be used to universally lift populations who have not had the best results in college access in the past,” said

– Natalie Williams, Executive Director of the T3 Partnership, Project Team Lead of the EP team

TxCAN believes that identifying and activating proven and effective college access practices will provide more Texas students with an equitable advising experience leading to more successful transitions to postsecondary. TxCAN’s north star goal is to increase college access for all students and this pitch competition will help identify proven and effective college access practices.

“There are students having really great advising experiences across Texas and we want to do a better job of helping others activate these practices.”

– Yvonne Eype, Executive Director of United for College Success, EP team member

Once these practices have been identified, the next step for the team will be to share these practices across TxCAN’s network of college access practitioners to promote and activate their use.

“We want practices that are scalable and easy to implement,” said Williams. “We know there are pockets of excellence across Texas and we know that there are places doing a really excellent job at ensuring there are more equitable opportunities for students to enter a degree program. What are those and how can we learn from them?”

Get Involved 

Submit an interest form we want to learn from you and encourage other organizations doing great college access work to submit an interest form too. We would love to recognize you all and learn more from your successes. TxCAN is currently accepting interest forms for our inaugural pitch competition. Linked here is a one-pager that shares more details about the competition including a timeline and case prompts.

TxCAN wants to increase college access across Texas by finding smart college access strategies that our coalition can help scale across the state to reach more students. Our coalition includes state agencies, regional collective organizations, education funders, and statewide college access non-profits. This is a fantastic opportunity for you or someone you know to be recognized by TxCAN’s network of college access leaders.

Submit an Interest Form Before May 1