Programs and Services
Programs and Services
Transition and Support Services
Transitions Program
Bridges to Success
The Challenge Program
Wade H. McCree, Jr. Incentive Scholarship Program
Countdown to College Program
Choosing to Succeed Enrichment Program
GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness & Readiness for Undergraduate Programs)
Diversity Education Services
Pre-College Programs and Services
Wade H. McCree, Jr. Incentive Scholarship Program (ISP): Ms. Tawana L. Day, Program Manager
The Wade H. McCree, Jr. Incentive Scholarship Program (ISP) is funded through the Office of King/Chavez/Parks Initiatives in the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth. High achieving, first generation college students are recruited from Flint, Beecher, and Westwood Heights Community Schools where low numbers of students ultimately attend and succeed in college and earn baccalaureate degrees. The students are identified and selected as second semester 8th graders and are then formally inducted into the program as 9th graders. The objective is to enhance their preparation for college (through workshops and seminars such as study skills, note taking, career planning and ACT/SAT test preparation) and to encourage their enrollment at UM-Flint. Full scholarships to UM-Flint are awarded to ISP students who successfully complete all program requirements and are regularly admitted to the University.
Countdown to College Program (CCP): Ms. Tawana L. Day, Program Manager
Funded by the University of Michigan-Flint through EOI, the Countdown to College Program (CCP) was initiated in 2006-07 to enhance the institutional outreach to middle school and early high school students with a particular emphasis on students from under-represented groups such as those from educationally or economically disadvantaged backgrounds and those from urban or other areas where the college access and success rates are significantly below the national average. The goal is to increase the number of students who will attend and be successful in post secondary education. This is achieved through day-long campus visits, programs, and workshops that are designed to inform, encourage and prepare students for the challenges of higher education. Throughout the academic school year entire classes of students (groups ranging up to 75 students) from Flint, Beecher, Westwood Heights and other area schools are invited to participate in the day-long activities on the UM-Flint campus.
Choosing to Succeed Enrichment Program (CTS): Mr. Henry E. Bazemore, Program Manager
Funded by the University of Michigan-Flint, the Choosing to Succeed Program (CTS) is designed to increase the number and preparation of students with a particular emphasis on students from under-represented groups such as those from educationally or economically disadvantaged backgrounds and those from urban or other areas where the college access and success rates are significantly below the national average. Students are selected from the Flint, Beecher, Westwood Heights and area school districts and provided with academic and support services to enhance their graduation from high school and to challenge them to pursue post-secondary education. The CTS program is divided into two components: middle school grades 6-8, and high school grades 9-12. CTS administers a commuter summer program and a comprehensive series of academic year workshops and enrichment activities. An incentive scholarship component is available for a selected group of high achieving CTS participants who become eligible for a full scholarship to UM-Flint upon successful completion of the program and regular admission to UM-Flint.
The KCP College Day Program was originally created by the Michigan State legislature in 1986 as part of the larger King/Chavez/Parks Initiative to increase the enrollment of minority and other students traditionally underrepresented in post-secondary education. In 2006-07 the state program was merged with the federally funded (U.S. Department of Education) Gaining Early Awareness & Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP). The program was initiated with the recruitment of the entire 7th grade class at Beecher Community Schools and the college readiness services are provided to the class as a cohort. The merged GEAR UP/College Day Program will continue to follow that class as a cohort through its graduation from high school. Throughout the summer and academic year the program provides a comprehensive series of workshops and enrichment activities working with the students and their parents. Upon graduation, a select percentage of the graduating program participants will be eligible for limited scholarships provided by the federal grant fund established for that purpose.
College Programs and Services
Transition and Support Services (TSS): Ms. Clara W. Blakely, Program Manager
Transition and Support Services provides a web of services, programs, and information designed to assist students in their transition to the university and continues the provision of these services through graduation. Its services are provided to students upon request or referral with the primary foci being students from under-represented groups such as non-traditional, educationally or economically disadvantaged, and those from urban or other areas where the college access and success rates are significantly below the national average, and others identified as being at high risk of not persisting through to graduation. TSS develops and implements programming that contributes to student success, enhances the rate of persistence and thereby enables more students to attain their baccalaureate degree. TSS also utilizes a comprehensive referral network to connect students to campus and external programs and services.
Programs and services offered through TSS address the academic, personal, and social needs of students. Programs and services offered by TSS include Peer Assisted Learning (PAL), Peer Growth Teams (PGT), academic guidance, monitoring and follow-up. The Bridges to Success, Challenge Program and the Transitions Programs are all part of TSS.
Bridges to Success Program (BTS): Ms. Tonya C. Bailey, Program Manager
Funded through the Office of King/Chavez/Parks Initiatives in the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth, with added support by the University of Michigan-Flint through EOI, the Bridges to Success Program delivers a comprehensive series of interventions and services designed to promote student success academically, personally, and socially. BTS is designed to introduce and engage students, (particularly educationally or economically disadvantaged students and others identified as being at high risk of not persisting through to graduation) in strategies and processes that are central to success in college, while also assisting students in resolving issues that can inhibit success. The program is designed to introduce and actively engage students (primarily first and second year students) in strategies and techniques that are essential to student success in college.
The Bridges to Success Program features a unique concept entitled the Posse component. While the Posse concept has previously been used exclusively for residential schools, the Bridges to Success Program has adapted the concept to accommodate our commuter student body. Students are identified, recruited and selected to form teams called “Posses.” Students are grouped into teams according to academic majors as one means to promote strong networking opportunities for Posse members as they pursue their educational goals. The Posse philosophy promotes academic achievement and leadership; it further empowers students to succeed and become active agents of change.
Introduced as a lower cost alternative to the Bridges to Success Summer Bridge Program, the Workshops on Wednesday (WOW) initiative also has been more successful in attracting participants who prefer to make the commitment to attend two workshops on consecutive Wednesdays as opposed to the full four-week requirement of the Bridge program as it was originally designed. It is directed to incoming first-year college students and rising high school seniors as an introduction and initial/brief immersion in a simulated college classroom. The workshops are led by UM-Flint professors in key academic areas with an emphasis on English, mathematics and the sciences.
Challenge Program: Ms. Tonya C. Bailey, Program Manager
Students who have demonstrated academic achievement and success yet do not meet one or more of the traditional freshman admissions criteria, are offered contractual admission to the University of Michigan-Flint through the Office of Admissions. Participation in the EOI Challenge Program is intended as a means of providing students with a good high school to college transition experience and a foundation for success at the University. Introduced to a variety of support services through the program, students have the opportunity to improve their academic skills as well as develop useful tools that will enhance their collegiate experience. The goal of the program is to offer students the best support and intervention services that will enable them to succeed academically, personally and socially. Students are encouraged to develop a Personalized Education Plan (PEP), and to participate in program services such as Peer Assisted Learning (PAL), Peer Growth Teams (PGT), and general academic guidance and monitoring. Challenge Program services are concentrated in the first and second semester of enrollment, but some services are extended beyond the contractual year.
Transitions Program: Mr. James Anthony Jones, Program Manager
Funded through the Office of King/Chavez/Parks Initiatives in the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth, with added support from UM-Flint in partnership with Mott Community College, the Transitions Program is designed to facilitate and increase the diversity and numbers of educationally or economically disadvantaged students who transfer from Mott Community College to UM-Flint to pursue a baccalaureate degree.
The Transitions Program identifies and recruits a select group of students at Mott Community College and cultivates within them the desire to pursue higher education to the attainment of a baccalaureate degree. The Transitions Program provides a series of intervention and outreach services that encourages persistence at MCC, directs students through the transfer process and continues with follow-up services to support academic achievement and graduation from the University of Michigan-Flint. Program participants receive comprehensive academic and developmental advising, transfer credit evaluation, financial aid and scholarship workshops, transfer student orientation, and a variety of individualized personal services designed to address the unique concerns of each transfer student. The Transitions Program utilizes a holistic approach to working with the transfer student to promote their academic, personal and social integration into the university. Once admitted to UM-Flint, the Transitions students are merged directly into the Bridges to Success Program for continued support and follow up.
Services at both the Pre-College and College Levels
Diversity Education Services (DES): Ms. Crystal A. Flynn, Program Manager and Diversity Trainer
Throughout the year, EOI sponsors a variety of programs, services and activities designed to enhance, educate and celebrate the diverse and multicultural environment of the campus and the Flint area community. Typical events sponsored and supported by EOI, often in collaboration with other offices and departments, include Hispanic Heritage Month, Native American Heritage Month, and African American Heritage Month. In addition, special projects and programs are frequently offered to address campus-wide concerns and social issues pertaining to diversity, cultural competency issues, fairness and equity. Previous programs offered have included anti-racism and interracial communications programs, facilitated diversity education and anti-racism workshops and discussion groups.
Collaborations with external organizations with similar aims and goals have included FACTER (Flint Area Citizens To End Racism), Leadership Development in Interethnic Relations (LDIR), The Opportunity Network, Volunteers for Affirmative Action, Genesee Valley Indian Association, the Hispanic/Latino Collaborative, the Spanish Speaking Information Center, the Flint Library Anti-Racism Speaker Series, the Color Line Project, the Urban Bush Women Project, the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond Undoing Racism workshops, Story Circles, Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health-Phase II (REACH 2010) and Community Cultural Planning Task Force to name several initiatives.