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Executive Summary
Many Indiana University Southeast students face challenges in obtaining a degree. The Access to Success Program is designed to help at-risk students make the transition to college more successfully. This program is designed to serve three groups--21 st Century Scholars, minority students, and adult learners (ages 25-39)--that have lower than average first-to-second year retention rates. The Access to Success program is an intensive program that will focus on specific peer-to-peer attention with these at-risk populations to better orient them to college, provide a smoother transition period, establish personal contact, enhance academic performance, increase involvement in campus life, and provide a sense of community and campus affiliation.
The project is designed (1) to increase access to post secondary education for three groups of the state's under represented students - 21 st Century Scholars, Minority Students and Adult Learners (ages 25-39), (2) to develop an academic support system that meets the special needs for these three groups, and (3) to increase their academic success, retention and integration into the campus community. We expect that at the end of the two–year grant period we will have (1) increased the number of entering 21 st Century Scholars, Minorities, and Adult Students (ages 25-39) over the baseline numbers by 3% over the two-year period of the grant, (2) increased in retention from the first year to second year by 15% for participants in this program, (3) at least 60% of participants indicate that they are very satisfied with the programs, and (4) 25% of first year participants become Access Peer Mentors in their second year.
We expect to achieve these goals though the implementation of the Access to Success program, which is composed of two major components—Access Peer Mentoring, an aggressive peer-mentoring plan, and Collegiate Summer Institute, a four-day summer expanded orientation program. Both programs work from the premise that learning is not a spectator sport. Students do not learn much by just sitting in classes, listening to teachers, and memorizing information. Students must be active learners who talk about what they are learning, write about it, relate it to experiences and apply it to their daily lives. Students must integrate what they learn with who they are and the Access to Success program will provide the tools to become active learners.
The program will assist students in six college transition-related areas: 1) Orientation to campus resources and activities; 2) Hands-on use of technology and learning skills development; 3) Academic advising and career choices, utilizing the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory; 4) Tools for success, family support, and the Parent/Family Association; 5) Intense yearlong one-on-one mentoring; and 6) A sense of belonging to the campus and involvement in leadership roles. Students will attend the Collegiate Summer Institute with their peer mentors, who will have made contact with the new students soon after they receive notice they are admitted to the university and the Access to Success Program. The Access to Success Peer Mentoring and Collegiate Summer Institute will serve as an alternate path by which these at-risk students can begin the transition to college. Collectively, these programs will ease students' transition to college and improve academic performance and retention during the first and second years.
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