The role of high school counselors includes providing equitable access to college and career opportunities for students (College Board, 2011). Attending college is viewed as a national priority that includes pre-college activities to promote postsecondary access (Savitz-Romer, 2012). High school counselors may have ambiguous roles that complicates their efforts (Engberg & Gilbert, 2014). Role confusion may arise when the high school counselors are asked to provide mental health services rather than professionally focus on college acceptance and completion for students. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of public high school counselors regarding their roles in developing a college-going culture. The participants were asked to share practices, policies, and resources specific to promoting a college-going culture. This case study included in-depth interviews that shed light on successes and struggles encountered by the high school counselors. The criteria for participants included serving a minimum of three years as a high school counselor and possessing a Tennessee school counseling license. The interviews consisted of 15 semi-structured questions framed in response to the three research questions guiding this study. The findings resulted in the emergence of four themes relative to answering the three research questions. The 11 participants expressed their roles as facilitators to students’ understanding, knowledge, and transition to access postsecondary education. The 11 participants provided insights and personal illustrations regarding the four themes. The findings revealed perceptions recognized from the participants’ experiences in the development of a college-going culture. Participants reported an expanded view of the term college and reflected that the college-going culture may be structured to address the needs specific to the respective high school’s environment. The participants responded that family influences are key elements that determine students’ entry to postsecondary education. Recommendations included practices that strengthened communication to students and parents and raising the rigor of academic coursework. The recommendations for practice included increasing the number of licensed school counselors with master’s degrees to reduce student caseloads. Currently, research from the American School Counseling Association (2017) suggests a student-to-counselor ratio of 250:1. Further research should explore barriers that prevent high school counselors from providing resources for the development of a college-going culture.

This descriptive study examines whether high school counselors are equipped to advise potential recruits on new NCAA academic eligibility regulations. It highlights the NCAA’s new Division I academic eligibility regulations in effect for current seniors in high school (entering collegiate class of 2016) and gives an overview of academic rule changes within the national governing body. The enhanced academic eligibility rules increase minimum GPA and test score as well as mandates strict core course requirements, prioritizing the role of a high school counselor in the entire process. The study will seek to examine the knowledge of high school counselors on new NCAA academic eligibility rules, the resources available to them and those needed to better assist potential recruits from underserved backgrounds. This study will focus on high school counselors employed in California at underserved schools characterized by those receiving Title I wide funding from the federal government. The majority of students at Title I wide institutions are minorities and first generation students and these populations rely heavily on their high school counselors for college knowledge. In many cases, athletic scholarships are these student’s only means of obtaining a collegiate degree; highlighting the need to examine the knowledge and resources high school counselors have and need to properly advise potential NCAA student-athletes. High school counselors need information and resources specific to NCAA academic eligibility regulations to help student-athletes from underserved backgrounds keep their collegiate dreams alive.