The Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) has been awarded a grant to offer a pre-freshman summer program for EOP students who have been accepted to Hudson Valley Community College for the fall. The pre-freshman program will enroll 30 students.
EOP is a state-funded program, administered by SUNY’s Office of Opportunity Programs, for students considered “at-risk” of not completing their degree program, due to various socio-economic reasons, and who are from low-income households.
The three-week, pre-freshman program (Aug. 12-30) will introduce students to the college’s academic support programs, offer workshops on developing and strengthening learning skills, and offer instruction and tutorial support in collegiate writings skills, mathematics and biological sciences. The primary objective of the pre-freshman program is to ensure students have a seamless transition to college, are familiar with support services, and are aware of policies, procedures, and expectations.
“We are very excited to be awarded funding for our summer program proposal,” according to Alfredo Balarin, assistant director for EOP and Student Life. Balarin, along with Dashira Cortes, EOP academic counselor; Christopher Keyser, EOP educational specialist, and Nietu Marigowdara, EOP mathematics tutor, collaborated in preparing the proposal. Balarin added, “This will be the third year EOP has offered a pre-freshman program. The first year we offered two separate weeks; last year we offered two consecutive weeks, and this year we expanded the program to three weeks to offer a more robust project.”
Research has revealed that students who participate in pre-freshman summer programs increase the potential for long-term academic success. For students who are academically at-risk, exposure to pre-freshman summer programs is especially important as academic skills are strengthened, the process of student engagement is initiated and students are able to cultivate early relationships with both their peers and campus administrators.
Components of the EOP Pre-Freshman Summer Program model are included in the new Summer Success Program coordinated by the New Student Orientation Office. Every effort must be made to ensure all of our students have a well-rounded and successful collegiate experience.
Published: Thu, 09 May 2019 12:00:02 +0000 by l.coplin