About us
Learn more about the NACRC
Mission
The mission of the Northern Arizona College Resource Center (NACRC) is to increase the number of students who apply, are admitted, and attend college by providing appropriate information, technical assistance, advice, and referrals to students and their families regarding applying to and financing college or university studies.
The NACRC is designed to provide information, technical assistance, advising, and referrals to students and their parents/guardians regarding all aspects of the college admissions and financial aid process. Services also include a variety of workshops and other community events to promote awareness of and access to post-secondary education.
Helios College Knowing & Going Initiative
History
In 2008, Arizona GEAR UP approached Northern Arizona University’s Educational Support Services Department about the possibility of creating a college resource center to benefit the residents of Northern Arizona.
Erin Grisham, Executive Director of Educational Support Services and Paul Giguere, Executive Director of the Flagstaff Family YMCA, were key players in bringing the Northern Arizona College Resource Center (NACRC) to Flagstaff. The YMCA board approved the addition of the NACRC in the new facility, and a major community partnership was formed.
Arizona GEAR UP generously provided all the start-up funds necessary for the NACRC to be born. An advisory committee was formed, composed of key community individuals representing Coconino Community College, Northern Arizona University, Coconino County, the City of Flagstaff, the Flagstaff Unified School District and the Flagstaff YMCA. The GEAR UP Grant helped to start the NACRC and funded the first two years of operation.
In June 2011, the NACRC received a $104,500 grant from the Helios Foundation for Education to be administered by the Arizona Community Foundation over the next year. These funds were potentially renewable over the following two years and fully funded the NACRC during that time as well as allowing for evaluation of the project.
The Helios grant provided the NACRC with the ability to pay for the director and media liaison positions as well as hire an administrative assistant and bring on two new full-time AmeriCorps positions. These staff members not only ran the center’s programs but helped to add tutoring and expand the reach of the center and the number of clients they were able to offer services to.
In 2015, the NACRC partnered with Helios Education Foundation, Arizona College Access Network, College Success Arizona, and the Metropolitan Education Commission on the Helios College Knowing & Going Initiative. The Helios funded grant has allowed the NACRC to hire a full-time Program Coordinator and extend its reach throughout Northern Arizona and Phoenix. This opportunity has allowed the NACRC to continue its important work throughout Arizona.
Goals
Provide information in an accessible, friendly, and centralized location to students, parents/guardians, advisors, and other youth-serving providers regarding:
- Appropriate preparation to be eligible for post-secondary education
- Applying for admission, and
- Seeking and applying for financial support
Provide technical assistance to students and their parents who are preparing to apply or are in the midst of applying for admission and financial support to attend two and four-year colleges and universities.
Advise students and their parents/guardians on how to identify and access opportunities for higher education and financial support to pursue post-secondary education.