www.IHaveAPlanIowa.govProvided by Iowa College Aid

11th Grade Guideway Manual

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Table of Contents

3 I Have A Plan Iowa®5 Using the 11th Grade Guideway6 Step 1—Transferable Skills Checklist7 Step 2—Resume Builder8 Step3—CoverLetterCreator9 Step 4—School Finder10 Step 5—College Visits11 Step6—PracticeCollegeApplication12 Step7—FinancialAidArticles12 Step 8—Scholarship Finder13 Step 9—Your Plan of Study14 Step10—AnnualReflection15 Professional Center

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I Have A Plan Iowa®

IowacodespecifiesthatallIowastudentsmustcreatestudentcurriculumplans.Studentsbeginworkontheirplansduring8thgradeandcontinuetobuilduponthemthroughouthighschoolbycompletingidentifiedstatecomponentsspecifictoeachgradelevel.AsIowa’sdesignatedcareerinformationanddecision-makingsystem,IHaveAPlanIowa® incorporates the state componentsintograde-specificguidewaystohelpschoolsmeettherequirementsofthestudentcurriculumplan.The guideways:• Provideaneasystep-by-stepprocessforstudentstocompletetherequiredcomponents.• AllowtheIowaDepartmentofEducationtoreceivetherequireddatareportsautomatically.

GettingStartedwithIHaveAPlanIowa®

Thefirststepistocreateaprofessionalaccount.Youwillneedanaccounttoviewthestepsoftheguidewayandtomonitorstudents’progress.Tocreateanaccount,gotohttp://procenter.ihaveaplaniowa.govandclickonCreateaProfessionalCenterAccount.YouwillneedaProfessionalAccountAccessKeyorAdministratorCode.Ifyoudonothavethecodeforyourschool,pleasecallXapCorporationtechsupportat800-281-1168.

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Visit the For Educatorsectionofwww.IHaveAPlanIowa.govto:

• Accesstutorialsandmanuals.• Selectlessonplansandactivities.• Requestfreepublications.

About Iowa College AidIowaCollegeAidisastateagencywithover40yearsofexperienceconnectingstudentsandfamilieswiththeessentialresourcesandservicestheyneedtoplan,prepareandpayforcollege.Formoreinformation,visitourwebsiteat:www.IowaCollegeAid.gov

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ToaccesstheIowaGuideways,studentsmustfirstcreateanaccount.Oncethatprocessiscomplete,theywillbereadytousetheIHaveAPlanIowa®11thGradeGuideway.

Using the 11th Grade Guideway

Toaccesstheguideways,signintoanaccountand select the Iowa Guideways link from the landingpage.

PLEASE NOTE: Your students MUST complete therequiredcomponentsintheGuidewayin order for their work to be recorded for the Iowa DepartmentofEducationreport.

Iowa 11th Grade Guideway

Thisguidewaywillwalkstudentsthroughpartsofthesystemthatarerecommendedfor11thgradestudents.Guidewaysareself-directedandprovideguidanceforstudentsbysuggestingthenextstepsfortheircareer-planningprocess.Thecomponentsofthegrade-specificguidewaysinIHaveAPlanIowa®wereidentifiedbytheIowaDepartmentofEducation.Thereisalotherebutitdoesn’tneedtobedoneallatonce.Studentscanstopbetweenstepsandpickuplaterwheretheyleftoff.Forthisyear,thisguidewayallowsstudentsto:

• Compare careers and connect careers to college programs• Start exploring colleges• Review and update their plan of study• Reflectontheircareerchoicesanddecisions

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Step 1 – Transferable Skills ChecklistThe transferable skills checklist helps studentsfigureoutwhattransferableskillstheyhavenoworplanondeveloping. Be sure students understand that when completingtheassessmenttheydonotneedtoselectskillsforeverycluster.

Allow students at least 30 minutes to selectskillsin25clusters.Tobegin,clickGet Started.

Note: If the student previously completed the Transferable Skills Checklist their results will display. They should complete the assessment again to see how their skills have changed.

OncestudentscompletetheTransferableSkillsChecklist,theywillbeabletoviewcareers based on the skills that they selected.

Note: Viewing careers is not required to continue to the next step of the guideway.

Hint: To progress through the guideway aftercompletingastep,clickContinue at thetopofthepage.

Optional Educational Enhancement Activity

Have students complete the following worksheet:https://secure.ihaveaplaniowa.gov/images/iowa/pdfs/pro/transferring_skills_to_careers.pdf.

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Step 2 – Resume Builder

The Resume Builder allows students to practicewritingaresume.Theresumeallows students to outline their qualificationsandskillstoapotentialemployer.

Hint: Students can click the links on the right hand side to either learn more aboutresumesorviewasampleresume.

Studentswillcompleteeachsectionoftheresumebuilder.Whentheyhavefilledintheinformation,theywillclickContinueatthebottomofthepage.

Aftercompletingtheresume,studentswill click Continue in the guideways box atthetopofthescreen.

Optional Educational Enhancement Activity

Students should print their resume and ask two educators to review it and suggestedits.

If students already have a resume created,theycanimportitbygoingtoYourPortfolio-CareerPlanning-GettingReadyforWork.Onceuploaded,theywillseethecontinuebuttoninStep2.

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Step 3 – Cover Letter Creator

Itisimportanttoincludeacoverletterwitharesumewhensendingitbymail.Thismodulehassamplecoverlettersforstudentstoeditandprint.Studentswillselectoneofthecoverletterstoedit.

Hint: Students can learn more about coverlettersbyclickingoneofthelinksin the Learn More box on the right side ofthescreen.Articlesinclude:Whendoyouneedacoverletter?,Writinge-mailcoverlettersandCoverLetterCreatorHelp.

Studentswillcompletetheinformationinthepersonalinformationsectionandthen click Continue.

Afterfillingintheblanksonthescreen,studentshavetheoptiontoreturntothemenu,seetheircoverletter,resetfieldsorsavethecoverletter.Aftersavingtheletter,theywillthenbeinstructedtogivethecoverletteratitleandsave.

Aftercompletingthisstep,studentscanclick Continue from the Guideway box at thetopofthescreen.

Optional Educational Enhancement Activity

Students should pick a partner to review theircoverletterandsuggestedits.

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Step 4 – School Finder

The School Finder allows students to searchschoolsbasedonspecific characteristics.Studentsstartby choosingcharacteristicstheywouldlikeinaschool.

Afterselectingonecharacteristicfromthelistonthelefthandsideofthescreen,thestudentselectsanotherfromthesamelist.

Afterselectingthecharacteristicstheyareinterestedin,studentswillclickSee Your Matching Schools.

Hint: Students can see how many schools are on their list at the top of the listofcharacteristics.

Note: Students need to review and save at least three schools to their portfolio before they can continue.

Optional Educational Enhancement Activity

Have students pick a school from their saved list and write a paragraph about why they chose that school in their IHAPI accountjournal.

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Step 5 – College Visits

An important step in choosing a collegeisvisitingthecampus.Inthenextstep,studentswillenter informationgatheredfromanycollegevisits.

Note: If the student has not done any collegevisits,theycanclickContinue to proceedtothenextstep.

This step also allows students to enter additionalinformationrelatingtotheircollegesearchexperience. Theycantrackcollegeapplicationsandrecruiting,addpersonalstatementsandintenttoregister.Theycanalsobuildacareerplanfromthisscreen.

Note: These are optional choices for the student.

Optional Educational Enhancement Activity

Lead a class discussion regarding students’topcriteriainpickingaschool.Writethelistontheboardandrankeachcharacteristicbyimportance.

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Step 6 – Practice College Application

Inthisstepstudentswillpracticedoingacollegeapplication.Studentsshoulddoasmuchofthepracticeapplicationastheycan.

Students will click Begin to start this step.Instructstudentstoreadthedirectionsonhowtousethepracticeapplicationbeforetheybegin.

Optional Educational Enhancement Activity

Printoffapplicationsfromseveralcolleges in the state and have students comparetheminsmallgroups.Leadaclassdiscussiondetailingthedifferencesandsimilaritiesbetweenapplications.

Thepracticeapplicationwillopeninanother window to allow students to workinbothwindowssimultaneously.

Note: Students can “continue” through this step in the guideway without completing the practice application.

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Step 7 – Financial Aid ArticlesInthisstep,studentswillreviewfourfinancialaidarticlestolearnmoreaboutfinancialaid.Thearticlesincludebasicinformation,howtoapply,costofcollegeandFAFSA.

Note: Students will not be allowed to continue until all articles have been reviewed.

Hint: Students can print or email any of thesearticlesbyclickingonthelinksatthetopofthescreen.

Step 8 – Scholarship FinderScholarships can be one source of financialaidtohelppayforcollege.Inthis step students will use the scholarship findertosearchforscholarshipsforwhichtheymayqualify.

Note: Be sure students save any scholarships they would like to review again to their portfolio.Studentswilladd/changetheinformationfortheselectedcategories.Studentscanselectallcategoriesorafewcategories.Aftermakingtheirchangesthestudentwillthen click See Matching Scholarships.

Note: In order to proceed to the next step, students will need to save three scholarships to their portfolio for future consideration.

Hint:Ifastudent’slistofscholarshipsislimited,trybroadeningsomeofthecharacteristicsusedinthesearch.Studentscandothisbydeletingsomeoftheirselectedcharacteristics.

Optional Educational Enancement Activity

Have students complete the following worksheet:https://secure.ihaveaplaniowa.gov/images/iowa/pdfs/pro/financial_aid_vocabulary_lesson.pdf

Optional Educational Enhancement Activity

Acompletelessonplan,includingaworksheet,canbeaccessedathttps://secure.ihaveaplaniowa.gov/images/iowa/pdfs/pro/searching_for_scholarships.pdf

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Step 9 – Your Plan of Study

Inthisstep,studentswillreviewtheirplan of study to be sure their 10th grade courses have been recorded accurately. Students should make sure their current 11th grade courses are marked as enrolled and validate their plans for 11th grade to ensure they are on track to graduate and gain admission tocollege.

Note: Students can return to review their plan of study anytime. Make sure students update their plan if their career pathway or postsecondary plans change.

Hint: You can ask students to submit theirplantoyouforapproval.Youcanalso view reports in the Professional Center to determine which students areontrackforgraduationfromthe Reportstab.

Oncetheplanhasbeenreviewed, revisedandupdated,studentscanclick Continue in the Guideways box at thetopofthepage.

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Step 10 – Annual Reflection

In the last step of the 11th Grade Guideway,studentshaveachanceto reflectontheircareerandcollegeplans. Click Add an annual reflectiontostart.

Students select 11th Grade from the timeperioddrop-downmenuand entertheirthoughtsinthetextboxes.

Hint: Remind students that their reflectionsarenotprivate.Theycanbeviewed by professionals (educators and counselors)attheirschool.

WhenstudentsclickSave and the page is refreshedshowingtheircomments,thestepiscomplete.

Note: Students can edit their journal entry by using the Editbutton.

Oncefinished,StudentsshouldclickContinue in the Guideways box at the topofthepage.

SummaryWhenfinishedthestudentshouldclickContinue.Asummarypagewillappeartoletthestudentknowtherequiredstepsarecompleted.Studentsmustcontinuetothissummarypagebeforeit will show they have completed the guideway.

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Professional CenterUsetheProfessionalCenterathttps://procenter.ihaveaplaniowa.govtotrackstudentprogressonthecompletionoftheguideways,toaccessstudentportfolios,toobtainlessonplans,andtocreateusageandoutcomebasedreports.ToaccesstheProfessionalCenteryouwillfirstneedtocreateanaccount.Oncethatstepiscomplete,followthestepsbelow.

Sign into your Professional Center account.

Oncesignedin,youwillseeyour ProfessionalCenteroptions.

1.Toviewguidewaytrackingreports,clickontheReportstab.

Hint:Ontherighthandsideofthepage,clickonthelogotoview I Have A Plan Iowa® as if you are a student.You must turn off your pop up blocker to use this feature.

2.ClickonCreate a New Report.

3.ClickonGuideways Tracking Report.

4.Choosethepopulationyouwouldliketotrack.

HINT: Youcanchoosetheentire11thgrade or you can choose a group of studentstotrack.

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5.Choosethegradelevelguidewayyouwouldliketotrack.

6.Youcanviewthestudentportfoliosandthestepsoftheguideway the student has completed.

Hint:Toviewdetailsinthestudent’sportfolio,clickonthestudent’sname.

Fromthedetailview,clickonHigh School Planning to review the student’scourseplan.

Fromtheportfolioview,youcanalsoviewthestudent’sotherwork,leavecomments,andtracktheportfoliosyouhavereviewed.

Updated July 2014