Schedule Hill Meetings – Contact your Senators and Representative in December or January to request a meeting during NLS. (When applicable, please contact your state association because in many situations the state association will schedule meetings for the state’s delegation.)

Ask Your Community – What are the needs of the community, how is your community changing, and how is the college responding to these changes?

Learn all you can about your college –  Institution's mission, key programs offered, facts about the student population, the business community served by the college, and the economic impact of college programs (one-page summary*).

Complete federal funds worksheet – Sharing the impact of these programs on your colleges demonstrates to members and their staff the importance of the federal investment in education and training programs.

Know your legislators – Do some research into their backgrounds; doing so helps you make a connection and helps you communicate in a way that gets your point across most effectively.

Group visits – Before the meeting, choose one person to be the spokesperson and start the meeting, decide the key points that should be covered, and who will raise what points.