Boston-The New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) will honor NHHEAF's Center for College Planning at its ninth annual New England Higher Education Excellence Awards celebration to be held Friday, March 11, 2011, at the Long Wharf Marriott Hotel in Boston, Mass. More than 500 people will attend this event, including leaders of education, business and government from across the six New England states.

Each year, NEBHE presents Regional Excellence Awards to individuals and organizations that have shown exceptional leadership on behalf of higher education and the advancement of educational opportunity, and State Merit Awards to honor the innovative work of organizations, institutions or individuals in each New England state.

The Center for College Planning at the NHHEAF Network Organizations is the recipient of NEBHE's 2011 New Hampshire State Merit Award.

The center is dedicated to providing students and families with valuable information about the college planning process. College Outreach Specialists travel statewide making hundreds of presentations to more than 31,000 individuals each year. The center offers an array of early awareness, college and career planning and financial aid programs for K-12 students and parents through library workshops, free webinars and special events. In addition, college counselors provide hundreds of families with personalized assistance in the agency's Concord, N.H. offices.

"The Center for College Planning has worked for many years with great dedication and with notable success to provide unparalleled resources, counseling and support to New Hampshire students and their families.  It has played a key role in helping students make their dreams of attending college become a reality," said NEBHE President and CEO Michael K. Thomas.