Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education develops new tools to help students prepare for college and careers

February 25, 2025

With just over half of Kentucky’s high school graduates going directly to college, the Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) has developed new tools for guidance counselors, advisors and other practitioners to help students explore college and career options as early as middle school.

The Kentucky Postsecondary Advising Framework identifies key milestones and suggested college- and career-related activities for students in grades 6-12 across four domains: career exploration, postsecondary opportunities, financial aid and essential skills. An accompanying Postsecondary Advising Toolkit serves as a resource hub for users, providing accurate and timely information about college and career planning and readiness.

“The ratio of school counselors to students is approximately 1 to 350 in Kentucky, which means they have little time to help individual students plan for college and a career,” said Dr. Amanda Ellis, CPE’s Vice President for Student Access and Success. “For this reason, higher education is becoming more proactive in getting college-going information into the hands of professionals who work directly with students.”

Along with the advising framework, CPE recently partnered with the Kentucky Center for Statistics (KYSTATS) and KDE to launch Futuriti, a website to help Kentuckians explore college and career options in the Commonwealth. Through the Kentucky Advising Academy, a CPE initiative, advisors and counselors are learning how to navigate the site to enable students and their families to take advantage of the wealth of information it provides.

“There are so many postsecondary opportunities beyond traditional four-year degrees that students are completely unaware of,” said Dr. Aaron Thompson, CPE President. “Initiatives like the advising framework and Futuriti are helping counselors prepare all students to take the next step in their educational journey, whether that be a community college, a university or an apprenticeship program.”

The Kentucky Postsecondary Advising Framework grew out of a recommendation from the Commonwealth Education Continuum, a group of education and workforce leaders shaping P-20 policy and practice in Kentucky. Partners in the advising framework’s development include the Education Strategy Group (ESG), the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE), the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority (KHEAA), GEAR UP Kentucky and the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet. To learn more, contact Mitzi Holland at mitzi.holland@ky.gov.