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GREENSBORO — Gov. Bev Perdue stopped in Greensboro on Monday to kick off a statewide push to get high school seniors to apply for college.

Perdue spoke briefly to a group of Grimsley High School students gathered by the school in the computer lab to apply for college as part of College Application Week , a statewide initiative sponsored by the College Foundation of North Carolina .

Grimsley counselors will be available to students in the computer lab during lunch as part of the designated week. Michael Harrington , a Grimsley counselor, said the school wants to help students tackle what can be a daunting task for some. He said this week is important for many students.

“I think it opens the door for conversation for some of these kids,” he said.

District officials said all county high schools have been encouraged to sponsor similar initiatives.

Applications and a fee waiver are accessible on CFNC’s Web site.

This is the third year CFNC has sponsored the application week. Ben Kittner , a spokesman for CFNC, said last year 19,000 students filed 38,000 applications . Because more schools are participating this year, CFNC expects more than 30,000 students to apply.

Kacy McAdoo, senior associate director of undergraduate admissions at UNCG, said this is one of the busiest weeks of the year for her office.

“This week we’ll see certainly a spike in applications,” McAdoo said.

She said it is important that students complete their applications; many fail to include an electronic copy or hard copy of their high school transcripts. She said families need to mind application deadlines, and students should apply to at least three schools in case they don’t get their first choice.

Colleges normally charge application fees, but 20 schools, including Greensboro College and Bennett College, will waive those fees submitted through CFNC this week.

After visiting Grimsley, Perdue made a short trip across town to the Koury Convention Center where the N.C. School Boards Association was holding its annual conference.

There, Perdue introduced the state’s new e-learning portal, a Web site that gives users access to every online course hosted by a state high school or college. The Web site provides access to courses some students can’t otherwise take at their school because it’s not offered. It will also provide workers a chance to take courses to retrain or update skills.

Although Perdue didn’t directly link the two, the new portal could be included in the state’s application for a federal “Race to the Top” grant, which she also discussed. The $4 billion in grant funding is part of the federal stimulus act. Grants will be awarded next year to states that propose major changes to their educational systems.

“I’m fighting for every recovery dollar I can find,” she said.

State Superintendent June Atkinson spoke about the grant at length during a meeting in Greensboro last week.

Perdue and Atkinson said the state will be seeking about $400 million.

Contact J. Brian Ewing at 373-7351 or brian.ewing@news-record.com