Albion College is a small private four-year liberal arts college located in south-central Michigan. The college takes pride in challenging its students with a rigorous curriculum while offering students high levels of academic and personal support. Prior to 2006, Albion College’s efforts to support students who were on Terminal Probation (TP) (i.e., the college’s most severe level of academic probation) were largely unsuccessful. The Academic Success Program (ASP), which combines a comprehensive theory-based course for credit (the Academic Success Course), study sessions, and academic advising, was established in fall 2006 to directly address a broad range of issues related to academic underperformance. Focusing on student ambivalence, effort, and strategy, the ASP aims to help students become self-regulated learners and responsible students. The program provides a challenging and supportive environment that encourages increased motivation and effort and improved critical thinking. Over the past three and a half years, the ASP has consistently demonstrated significant increases in student retention, student achievement, and increased net revenue for Albion College.

As the most comprehensive academic unit of its kind in the United States, The University of Texas College of Communication (COC) has a mission that encompasses four categories: intellectual, entrepreneurial, pedagogical, and social. With such an expansive mission, the College of Communication Office of Student Affairs (OSA) is involved in organizing and coordinating many services and events for COC students. With a sizeable campus community and many programs available to students, advisors are faced with the difficult task of communicating information to and connecting with their students. The OSA has implemented new processes and technological tools to meet these needs.

The COC-OSA has changed the advising structure to adopt a more personalized advising approach, has developed new tools to address student issues, and uses social media to communicate and connect with students. The OSA staff attempts to build a rapport with students through advising communities.

The OSA develops special programs so students can get the most out of their student experience. The OSA is involved in developing Communication specialized Study Abroad opportunities and a semester in Los Angeles program (UTLA).

From recruiting to graduation, the OSA coordinates the entire student experience in the College of Communication. The OSA expects COC students to be innovators in Communication and the OSA leads by example.

Beginning in the fall of 2005, the Students Taking Academic Responsibility (STAR) Mentoring Program is a semester-long intensive one-to-one or mentor-facilitated small group intervention for students at IUPUI-University College who are on first-time academic probation. STAR’s mission is to provide academic and personal support through mandatory weekly contacts as students work to get back to good academic standing (cumulative GPA 2.0 or above) at IUPUI. Using the strengths model of appreciative advising, STAR mentors are trained to collaborate with their students to help them become more focused and motivated to address their challenges, improve their strengths, and connect to the various resources on campus that can help them reach their academic and career goals. While there is no financial cost to participate in STAR, it requires a commitment to attend weekly appointments with their mentor or group mentoring sessions and to work hard to improve their academics. A combination of faculty, advisors, students and professional staff from across campus volunteer each semester to be mentors for STAR. Keeping probation students off dismissal status is the main goal of the STAR Program.

Ideally, meetings between students and mentors begin within the first month of the semester. Excluding the first three to four weeks of school and finals week, a mentor and student are required to meet for ten sessions. Discussions during these weekly meetings focus on a variety of skill-building activities, including setting realistic and attainable goals, effective time management strategies, motivation, and prioritizing their activities.

The Explorations Program is a unique opportunity for undeclared first-year students to investigate academic degree programs, campus resources, and career options. It provides students the opportunity to assess their abilities, interests and goals while methodically investigating the variety of academic programs offered at UMaine. Through a one-credit pass/fail seminar (FYS 100) taught by their academic advisor and mandated one-on-one meetings with their advisors, Explorations students engage in structured activities that enable them to make informed choices about their major and the potential careers associated with their chosen major. Enrollment in each seminar is capped at 20 students.

A safe classroom environment and the advisor/advisee relationship support students as they learn how to navigate the campus, discover their own direction, and find their path to success. The advising is teaching model also provides an environment for first-year students to connect with their peers and develop healthy and supportive relationships as they become fully engaged members of the University of Maine community.

The program was first implemented in 1989. It has undergone many revisions. The program works. By the end of the first year, students are more confident not only in identifying major/minor options but also more confident about their abilities to succeed in higher education. Details of the program are available at the Outstanding Advising Program Award Recipients webpage.

The Seizing Opportunities for Achievement and Retention (SOAR) program was established at The University of Central Florida in 1980. The program was designed to assist and help retain academically and economically disadvantaged African-American and Hispanic students who were admitted by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions to the University. Students, who accept the offer to join the SOAR program, must successfully complete the six-week summer bridge program in order to receive full admission into the University for the fall semester. Students complete a maximum of three (3) courses during the summer and must pass each class with a minimum of at least a 2.0 (C) average. In comparison to traditional UCF freshmen admits, most of our students are academically or economically disadvantaged. The average freshman student who entered the University during the 2009-2010 academic year had a cumulative high school grade point average of 3.8, and an average SAT score of 1225. The average SOAR student had a high school grade point average of 3.48, with an average SAT of 895.

Despite these barriers, the SOAR Program has a 96% summer to fall retention rate over the past five years and a 90% fall to fall student retention rate.

When they graduate, today’s undergraduates will find themselves citizens of a nation and world facing increasingly complex problems. In order to address these problems, our next generation of graduates will need to be trained not only as skilled professionals within a single field or discipline. Just as importantly, they will have to be flexible, integrative, critical, and collaborative thinkers.

Launched in 2002, the Bridging Disciplines Programs (BDPs) were created to meet this educational challenge at UT-Austin. Consisting of nine different interdisciplinary concentrations, the BDPs guide students in choosing courses that satisfy major, core, and elective requirements in an integrated way, allowing them to earn a certificate in a secondary area of specialization that enhances their major. In addition to coursework, the BDPs require students to participate in undergraduate research and internships, giving them first-hand experience applying the skills and knowledge they acquire in their courses. By working with faculty mentors who supervise student research and internships, students develop individualized relationships with faculty members, who are in a position to nurture students’ goals and accomplishments. The abilities to draw connections across disciplines, to approach problems and issues from multiple perspectives, and to apply skills and knowledge through hands-on research and internships are the chief learning outcomes the BDPs support.

With the help of BDP advisors, students can pursue BDP concentrations in nine different areas: Children and Society; Cultural Studies; Digital Arts and Media; Environment; Ethics and Leadership; Film Studies; International Studies; Social Entrepreneurship and Non-profits; and Social Inequality, Health, and Policy.

The Mannie L. Jackson Illinois Academic Enrichment and Leadership Program (I-LEAP) directs a student compass in the critical areas of academic skill and leadership development, civic engagement, and university integration. Through one-on-one bi- weekly meetings, mentorship, tutoring, workshops, and campus and community networking, I-LEAP Scholars are encouraged to maximize student success through accessibility, accountability, and individualized directed attention.

Participation in The Mannie L. Jackson Illinois Academic Enrichment and Leadership Program (I-LEAP) is voluntary and of no cost to program participants. I-LEAP is available to undergraduates enrolled in the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who are first-generation students, students from underrepresented groups, student athletes, and those from the President Awards Program (PAP), Educational Opportunities Program (EOP), and Illinois Promise.

It is our goal for the I-LEAP Program to serve as a resource to ensure that all students who have the interest and ability to earn a college degree can do so. We strive to accomplish this in a three- fold educational process: accessibility to services, student accountability, and individualized directed attention. We continually strive to implement these principles by providing student support, assistance, and services that complement the student experience by integrating leadership, civic engagement, personal/academic development to achieve lifelong learners and leaders.

The I-LEAP program provides a variety of services and initiatives designed to help students develop their full potential and as a result become more successful students in their coursework, connect to the university community, and develop leadership skills. Students receive support in areas of academic skill development, university integration, and leadership development. The services that students with the I-LEAP Program receive are:

Today, transfer students are a significant population within the higher education culture. Programs that assist transfer students in decisions on institutional fit as well as major fit are significant for students in reaching academic, career, and personal goals. The University of Utah has addressed the transitional issues faced by this population through the development and implementation of a Transfer Center at University College which opened in January 2004. This entity consists of two components. The first components takes advising to students at two-year colleges in Utah while the second component establishes a location on-campus at the U of U for newly admitted and enrolled transfer students to seek out information and assistance through advising. Through collaborations among Utah institutions of higher education and the U of U community, transfer students who are considering the U of U are receiving services that are pro-active to support the growth and inclusion of this population within the four-year campus community.

The Academic Advising & Exploration Center (AAEC) at the University of Wisconsin Whitewater serves over 2400 first year and undeclared students. The mission of the AAEC is to provide intrusive and developmental academic advising to assist students with their transition to college and their development of an educational plan consistent with their personal values, interests and abilities. Students are required to meet with their advisor four times per academic year in a one-on-one setting, creating an opportunity to develop a relationship during their transition to college. Along with the mission statement and enduring goals, the AAEC places academic advising within a teaching and learning paradigm and focuses on the outcomes in the academic advising process. This is consistent with the NACADA Statement on the Concept of Academic Advising.

The AAEC has grown and has ingrained itself into the university structure over the past five years. Communication and collaborative relationships within the university community have been developed and high satisfaction by these groups has been indicated in the outside consultant’s Program Review Report. The AAEC has become the focal point and leader in academic advising for the university and has become involved in all academic committees related to academics and advising on campus over the past five years. This involvement has had a great impact on improving university wide policies, procedures, and practices on all areas related to academic advising.

Pathways to Success at Louisiana State University at Eunice is a specialized program for underprepared students who have an ACT composite of 15 or below, or do not have ACT scores. Implemented in summer 2004, the mandatory one-year program combines academic advising, first year experience, and developmental education theories along with clearly defined guidelines that continually engage students and prepare them for their general education coursework. Program components include mandatory placement, assessment, orientation, academic advising, tutoring, classroom attendance, and coursework in mathematics, English composition, study strategies, and reading.

Two of the main components, academic advising and orientation, take place throughout the year-long program since students are required to see their advisors three times each semester as a requirement of the university studies classes. Advisors and faculty focus on the whole student throughout the first year while students make the transition to higher education. In addition to the coursework in math and English, students must also enroll in Strategies for Success where faculty address issues ranging from how to take effective notes and analyzing their own learning styles to using the institution’s email system.

Institutional data indicates that the program is highly effective since the one-year retention rate increased from 30% to 43% in four years. Students are also performing better academically since 76% of the enrolled students were in good academic standing (GPA = 2.0) at the end of spring 2007, up from 56% four years ago. Students placed on probation decreased from 40% to 7% during the same time period.

Directed by: Lori Wright and Rebecca McCollum

The Center for Access and Transition (CAT) is designed to provide academic instruction and advising for undergraduate students who did not meet the criteria needed for direct admission to UC. The Mission is to help students gain access to one of the University of Cincinnati’s baccalaureate programs and to equip them with the knowledge, skills, and resources to successfully earn a degree.

CAT students are offered specialized instruction supplemented by academic tutoring. Academic advisors practice intrusive advising; providing intensive assistance to focus the student on academic skills necessary to reach educational goals. Students have mandatory appointments each quarter with their academic advisor to track their course progress. In addition, advisors have ‘no show’ days, to track down students who have not yet scheduled their required appointments. Advisors also use Course Progress Reports, where professors provide feedback midway through the course about a student’s status in order to make improvements if needed.

In addition, the Early Intervention tracking system provides a form of measuring student success in CAT courses. Faculty can notify advisors of a student’s destructive behaviors, so that intervention methods can be implemented. Advisors also create action plans with at-risk students.

As a result of the CAT program, 100% of students in the CAT program can be tracked down and remain in communication. Therefore, students who are serious about their academics and want to achieve their educational goals are assured to receive the help and resources they need for success.

The Discovery Program, an advising unit within the University College of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), offers a holistic and proactive advising program for students who are undecided about their programs of study and have not yet declared a major. Using a combination of individual advising sessions, workshops and classes, Discovery advisers help undeclared students consider educational options and make appropriate choices based on personal interests, skills and abilities, values, and professional goals. Small advising caseloads of 150-175 first-year students per advisor enable Discovery advisors to meet with each advisee two or three times per semester. Students also have opportunities to take classes taught by advisors that are designed to assist them to develop educational and career goals. As a result of the initiatives implemented through the Discovery Program, undeclared students have expressed more satisfaction with advising. For example, within the past four years, the percentage of undeclared students who expressed highest satisfaction levels with advising increased from 58% in 2004 to 77% in 2007. Correspondingly, the first-year retention rate of undeclared students increased from 74% in 2003-04 to 82% in 2006-07. Increasing numbers of undeclared students and low retention rates for those students at universities across the nation are clear evidence of the need to develop new strategies for effectively advising these students. The success of the Discovery program provides clear evidence that advising not only enhances academic success but it also has an impact on first-year student persistence.

Sinclair Community College’s Individual Learning Plan (ILP) connects at-risk students with an innovative, holistic advising program designed to increase success, retention and graduation rates. Many Sinclair students require additional academic and personal support services beyond the traditional advising model. The ILP program advisors coach at-risk students to attain the skills and information they need for a smooth, successful transition into college.

An interactive, web-based data system was developed “in-house” to support the ILP program. An important feature allows the advisor and student to create an action plan complete with due dates and supporting details such as contact information for the suggested services. Other popular features include assessment results, numerous reports, and structured advising records that promote consistent and quality advising.

The ILP program engages the student through a holistic advising model that can easily adapt (in part or whole) to most college or university retention programs. The program continues to grow at Sinclair and is now implemented on several campuses nationwide.

Summer Provisional Program

Directed by: Nanette Cheatham and Alzina Duncan

The Summer Provisional Program is an academic support program developed to admit and assist students who do not meet regular freshman admission requirements but who have been identified as having potential for success at Louisiana State University . The Program provides participating students with structured academic and outcome requirements, learning strategies, and counseling opportunities in order to equip, monitor, and support students toward a successful summer experience and college career.

Students invited to participate in the Summer Provisional Program must complete a contract of understanding that specifies the Program academic and outcome requirements for fall admission to the University. These requirements specify that the participant earn a minimum 2.5 grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) on all course work taken during the summer term. Summer coursework must consist of a minimum of six semester hours (two courses) of college level courses, three semester hours of which must be a college-level English or mathematics course.

In addition to these structured academic requirements, learning strategies workshops scheduled strategically throughout the summer session serve to equip students with study, note- / test-taking, and time management skills. Academic tutoring and individual career and personal counseling serve to support and encourage students in their endeavors.

University of Kentucky

The Robinson Scholars Program (RSP) is a scholarship, student support, and leadership development program that serves first generation college-bound and college students from Appalachian Kentucky who have demonstrated the potential to succeed but who might encounter economic, cultural, or institutional impediments to their completion of four-year college degrees. In recognition of the potential obstacles facing these students, the Program identifies Scholars in the eighth grade. High school students participate in a number of program activities, including school visits by RSP staff, academic-year weekend programs, and summer enrichment programs. The high school component is designed to prepare students for successful high school-to-college transitions. Program staff members understand this requires a holistic approach and involves interactions with students, their families, their schools, and their communities. Upon successful completion of high school, Scholars who have fully participated in program activities receive full scholarships to the University of Kentucky or any of the state's community colleges. The Program provides college students with a range of support services and special opportunities. The Program seeks to connect students to the larger institution, to its people, to its services, and to its culture. It holds its Scholars to a high standard and expects them to perform well in the classroom, be involved in the campus community, and be committed to volunteer service. It equips students to perform at their highest levels, both as college students and in their lives beyond our institution, and it encourages students that they can and will succeed.

Student Support Services (www.usu.edu/sss)

Directed by: Nazih Al-Rashid / (image- Wendy Beck, Carol Sainsbury, Carolyn Glover, Nazih Al-Rashid)

Nominated by: John Mortensen

Student Support Services at Utah State University is an exemplary TRIO program that has been recognized for its best practices in serving low-income, first-generation, and disabled students, a population that has traditionally been underserved. The Student Support Services program has established activities and integrated services that take a holistic look at a student's needs and abilities. The focus is to insure that participants in the program have a realistic chance to persist in school and graduate from Utah State University .

Intrusive advising practices, balanced with academic tutoring, faculty mentoring, study skills instruction, and financial aid and career planning has had an impressive effect on the steady increase of retention rates for eligible students (78.88%), which is significantly higher than the retention rate of non eligible students (53.87%). Advisees are not only staying in school, they are also taking more credits and achieving higher GPAs than non eligible students. SSS participants are 88% more likely to return for their second year of college and have significantly higher cumulative GPA and graduation rates than non participants. These achievements not only benefit SSS, but impact the university as a whole. USU's grant proposal has been recognized in the top 10% of all TRIO programs nationwide.

Probation Intervention Program (www.sarc.sdes.ucf.edu/probation.html)

University of Central Florida

Directed and nominated by: DeLaine Priest / (image)

Students that enter the University are often not prepared for the changes they will experience during their first year of college. At the end of the Fall 1998 semester, the probation rate for First Time in College (FTIC) students at the University of Central Florida was 21.6%. The probation rate for freshman students was considered to be at a critical stage, requiring intervention. The following year, the Probation Intervention Program was developed to improve the academic success and retention of this target population. The program has since evolved to accommodate the changing needs of this target population.

As participants of the Probation Intervention Program, students are required to meet with their assigned academic advisor within the first six weeks of the semester. Prior to attending the required advising appointment, students must complete an on-line self-assessment form, identifying the reasons they are placed on academic probation and recommending campus resources they can utilize while on probation. During the student's advising appointment, the advisor will review (with the student) the self-assessment form, assist the student in setting semester GPA goal, and develop a plan of action using the Student Improvement Plan.

Since the inception of the Probation Intervention Program the probation rate for FTIC students has decreased to 10% in five years, through the implementation of programs and services for this target population.

General College, University of Minnesota

Directed by: Susan Warfield

Nominated by: Avelino Mills-Novoa

The Student Parent HELP Center (SPHC) at the University of Minnesota is one of the few programs in the country serving student parents in higher education. The SPHC has worked to eliminate the additional barriers student parents face while completing their degrees. To achieve this end, the SPHC provides childcare assistance, emergency financial assistance, academic scholarships, resource and referral, community building activities, counseling, and advocacy, all within a family-friendly, centrally-located facility. All programs and services of the SPHC are designed to promote access, retention, and academic success for University of Minnesota students with children.

The HELP (Higher Education for Low Income People) Center was created in 1967 to serve educationally and economically disadvantaged students, which included students-of-color and student parents. Over the years, other programs have been created to address the special needs of students-of-color and the HELP Center evolved into the Student Parent HELP Center , which has focused exclusively on the needs of student parents for well over a decade. Although the SPHC has been administered by the University of Minnesota 's General College since its inception, the SPHC is an intercollegiate program that serves all undergraduate student parents enrolled at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus.

Strategies for Academic Success Program (http://web.uncg.edu/adv/sas100/)

Student Academic Services, University of North Carolina Greensboro

Directed by: Cindra S. Kamphoff

Nominated by: Cindra S. Kamphoff and Scott Amundsen

The University of North Carolina Greensboro (UNCG) has developed an innovative program for probation students that is cost-effective and easily transferable to other institutions. Students on academic probation after their first semester at UNCG are required to enroll in a student success course entitled Strategies for Academic Success (SAS 100). This eight-week program takes a proactive approach that addresses academic problems students experience early in their college career. The primary focus of the course is on success and life skills (goal setting, positive affirmations, self management, personal responsibility) rather than academic remediation. One of the key differences between SAS 100 and other probation programs is its mandatory class attendance policy. Students missing one class session of SAS 100 are immediately suspended from the university.

Since 2000, SAS 100 has undergone extensive evaluation leading to adjustments in theory, curriculum design, advising, course length, instructor training, class size, and use of a consistent text. Dramatic gains have been demonstrated in program participant's retention rates, restoration of good academic standing, and their levels of hope and optimism.

Office of Pre-Professional Advising (http://www.sc.edu/oppa)

Provost's Office, University of South Carolina

Directed by: Eileen Korpita

Nominated by: Loretta Lynch-Reichert

The Office of Pre-Professional Advising (OPPA) at the University of South Carolina (USC) provides advisement for students planning to apply to law, medical, and other health professional schools. Upon investigation of admission rates for USC students to medical school, it was discovered that the rate of acceptance was lower than the national average of college and university acceptance rates. The OPPA, with the help of several university faculty and staff, created an innovative program for pre-medical students. The program is called the Pre-Medical Academic and Career Exploration Series (PACES).

Needs assessments highlighted the deficiencies and goals and objectives led to program planning. Designed to assist pre-medical students enhance their preparation for and application to medical school, this multi-faceted program brought academic and student services together to provide a wide array of services for this group of students. PACES has been remarkably successful in achieving its goals and has become enmeshed in USC's academic and student services cultures. In its seventh year, the program continues to thrive, demonstrating success in assisting students with the preparation for their chosen careers.

Fellowships and Scholar Programs

University of South Carolina

Directed by: Novella F. Beskid

Nominated by: Mary Stuart Hunter

Setting a trend - The University of South Carolina was ahead of the national trend in 1994 when it established the Office of Fellowships and Scholar Programs. Indeed, the University took a risk when it organized this new office for advising. A national network of fellowship offices has since emerged.

This office facilitates the pursuit of nationally prestigious fellowships by academically talented University students. High achieving students are identified in their first year, recruited, and advised to compete for such awards such as Rhodes, Truman, Fulbright, NSF, and dozens more. The staff reports to the Office of the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost.

The risk pays off. Prior to the establishment of the office, University students on average won two national scholarships a year. Since the office's inception, the yearly average of winners has increases to 22.5 awards annually, resulting in 180 national awards won since 1994. However, whether or not a student wins, the application processes are designed to be developmental.

The office advises students in every aspect of candidacy for a national award: completing applications, writing essays, and participating in interviews. Success in the process has garnered many awards including Rhodes and Marshall Scholars.

Faculty involvement is critical. An advisory committee, as well as individual scholarship committees, support the office and applicants. Both represent a wide range of academic and administrative areas and are critical to the success of the office. Advising our finest students in national fellowship competitions has produced significant quantitative and qualitative dividends for the students and the institution.

Academic Advising: A Centralized Special Population Model
Columbus State University
Nominated by Paula Simko and Amy Shaw

Academic advising for special population students at Columbus State University has developed into a centralized model. Over four hundred students identified as special populations, are advised. These populations include undeclared students, non-traditional students, students with disabilities, high school joint enrollment and early admission students, and audit and transient students. The offices located in the Tower Center include the Adult Re-Entry Program, College 105: The Freshman Experience, the Tutorial Services Program, the Bridges/PREP Program, the Office of Disability Services. The coordinators of these programs also serve as the academic advisors for these special populations. Students with different issues and needs benefit from being advised by professionals who work in specialized programs in academic support. To provide comprehensive advising, these professionals continuously collaborate with colleagues and refer these students to essential services on campus. They attend conferences on advising and serve on various campus committees to provide current information to students they serve.

Student Athletic Academic Program Increasing the Retention and Persistence Through Advising Systems
Contra Costa College
Submitted by: Tim Clow

This is a student at-risk retention and persistence program at a Northern California community college which grew out of the knowledge that its athletes were not achieving success. A system of early alert notifications have been developed and records devised to monitor student athletes' performance. Faculty and student peer advising has its own training program complete with informational manual and data entry requirements. Faculty and student peer advisors are responsible for the development of semester by semester educational plans, course articulation agreements and transfers to 4-year institutions as well as periodic meetings between student advisees throughout the semester.

Project THRUST
University of South Florida
Nominated by: Denotra Lee and Sharman McRae

The Project Thrust Program is an academic support unit within the Division of Academic Support and Achievement at the University of South Florida. This program strives to create an environment in which minority students can increase their likelihood of academic success. Project Thrust operates under the premise that all students entering USF need to be advised and counseled throughout their enrollment and that students experiencing difficulties should be provided with immediate help in overcoming those problems. The Program practices various intrusive counseling/advising techniques to help students earn their degrees.

Project Thrust advisors are housed in the academic advising unit of the college they serve. They give students the immediate and long-term help they need to ensure the successful completion of their academic programs. First year students are assisted by Project Thrust's Personal Excellence Program (PEP). PEP has been the operative and successful vehicle used to minimize obstacles by providing freshmen with a smooth transition from high school to college; thus, increasing students' chances for academic success.

General College, TRIO Student Support Services
University of Minnesota
Nominated by: Bruce Schelske

Our nation has assured a commitment to providing educational opportunity for all Americans. In support of this, Congress established TRIO Programs to help students overcome class, social, academic and cultural barriers to higher educations. TRIO programs include Upward Bound, Educational Talent Search, McNair Scholars, EOC and Student Support Services.

The TRIO/SSS Program at General College started in 1976. The TRIO/SSS Program helps students to succeed socially and academically during the crucial early years at the University so they are more likely to graduate.

During the academic year, TRIO/SSS program students receive the following services:

Supportive advising/counseling from full-time professional advisors.
One credit supplemental study groups attached to difficult classes with spaces reserved for TRIO in such classes.
Tutoring in math--from elementary algebra through calculus--composition, paper writing and other subjects.
Student with disabilities or who have special needs get help with registration, tutoring, lab assistance and test reading or proctoring.
Leadership Development, social events and community service through the TRIO Student Association.
Services offered to second-year students in the program include most of the first year services at a higher level.

A Journey Begun: The L & S Honors Program and Pathways to Excellence
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Nominated by: Christopher Lee, Kathryn Simmons, and Janet Vandevender

In keeping with the Wisconsin Idea, the College of Letters and Science Honors Program has transformed itself into a viable springboard for promoting excellence in undergraduate education for all of the students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The major challenges facing the Honors Program were determining how to provide traditional advising services to its 1200 students with its present staff, and still implement initiatives which would be inclusive of non-honors students. The outcome of this exercise has been the development of numerous and creative ideas.

Primary among the new initiatives has been the development of multiple advising strategies and programs, many of which are specifically geared toward integrating the freshmen and transfer students into the University culture. Through training of its staff, its greater faculty community, and its students, the Program has been successful in increasing the number of contacts and in providing a more personal advisory experience.

As part of its mission to make Honors work more accessible to a larger group of students, the Honors Program has revamped its curriculum and currently allows for students to enter the program at different stages of their development. Several Pathways to Excellence programs programs have been launched including pathways to teaching, research, and community.

Through the support and encouragement of University administrators, faculty, and students and the dynamic leadership of its Director and Dean, the Honors Program has been successful in offering an array of both formal and informal educational experiences.

Health Professions and Pre law Information Center
Indiana University--Bloomington
Nominated by: Nicholas M. Hipskind

The Health Professions and Pre law Information Center (HPPLIC) of Indiana University in Bloomington (IUB) serves students who wish to attend professional schools and programs in the health and law areas. Acceptance to these schools requires not only academic talent, but also a complete understanding of the application and selection process.

HPPLIC was founded in 1970 as a premedical advising service. It has expanded to include three full-time, permanent advisors and two part-time advisors, including a pre law advisor specializing in underrepresented populations. In 1999 enrollment at IUB was 36,200. Approximately 1,000 students annually apply to a professional program associated with this office. This represents a significant challenge.

The foundation of the service is individual advising by specialists in the health and law fields. Advisors discuss the relationship of undergraduate work to success in professional schools and the factors influencing admission decisions. Our staff conducts group meetings in dormitories and participates in departmental career fairs. The office provides current listings of admission standards. It offers a "letters of recommendation" service which gathers and disseminates all recommendations. HPPLIC maintains a library with professional school catalogs and reference works [including admission test preparation materials] devoted to careers and admissions. It maintains an email system to keep students up-to-date on events and opportunities. HPPLIC provides information of special significance for minority populations.

IUB students do well in the application process. Last year over 150 students were admitted to dental and medical schools, and almost 400 [80% of applicants] were admitted to law schools in 1998.

Expanded Advising Programs
Stanford University
Nominated by: Diane Elizondo and Lorelle Espinosa

Charged by a university committee to explore new ways of offering advising through curricular, residential, and other programmatic initiatives, the Undergraduate Advising Center (UAC) at Stanford University analyzed their traditional freshmen and sophomore advising system. Using an existing campus program as a framework, the UAC instituted the Partners for Academic Excellence (PAE) program and the Freshman Advising, Resources, and Mentoring (FARM) program. There are six distinct programs with populations that include freshmen who are undecided about their academic interests, and students who are from the African American, Chicano/Latino, student athlete, Native American, and transfer communities. The Expanded Advising Program (EAP), a division of the UAC, operate PAE and FARM. EAP goals include facilitating student relationships with faculty and other mentors, and providing an ongoing orientation to campus academic resources and support networks. EAP participants meet weekly with a graduate and undergraduate mentor team who are guided with a curriculum and quarterly training. Initial results indicate that PAE and FARM students develop an immediate connection to the university, are familiar with and utilize resources and opportunities at an earlier stage in their undergraduate career than non-participants, and have an extended campus support network.

Student Support Services
University of Minnesota
Nominated by: Mark Bellcourt

TRIO Student Support Services (TRIO/SSS) in General College at the University of Minnesota is designed to help low income, first generation and/or disabled students adjust to college life, develop strategies to overcome barriers to rigorous academic expectations and to successfully complete their degrees. It is one of five "Exemplary Site" programs cited nationally for having significantly impacted grades and retention. Arnold Mitchem, President of the Council for Opportunity in Education, says it "is one of the strongest of the 2000 TRIO programs in the nation." It "has always been at the forefront of developments in offering the most effective tutoring, mentoring, and advising"

TRIO/SSS was started in 1976 and has a proven record of success. "As one of the original TRIO Student Support Services programs, the University of Minnesota is a national leader" It combines intrusive advising with supportive learning communities. It selects courses that have been proven to be academically rigorous, attached a credit bearing supplemental instruction (SI) course, and packages them with other courses to form learning communities.

Harvey Carlson, former TRIO/SSS student and current Ph.D. candidate, says, "The success I have achieved academically is due in large part to the climate created by TRIO and the sense of campus connection" In addition to its strong academic components (SI, one-on-one tutoring, study groups, and intrusive advising), TRIO/SSS sponsors many student development and community building activities like a Student Board, several social events, and student leadership opportunities.

School for New Learning Advising Program, School For New Learning
DePaul University
Submitted by: Morry Fiddler and Kenn Skorupa

The School for New Learning at DePaul University exclusively serves adult learners in competence-based programs that rest, in great measure, on a comprehensive advising program. The college offers graduate and undergraduate programs, each of which operate with similar advising systems and philosophies. Students encounter a network of advisors from the point of initial inquiry through graduation. The centrality of advising to "help unlock learners' potential" has translated into courses as well as personalized experiences that focus on learners' development of learning plans that rest on individualized goals and learning activities.

The college advising program promotes the development of skills in the self-management of learning, the support for students to make informed choices, and enables the proactive seeking and responding to adult learning needs by advisors. Faculty and staff roles are defined largely by the college's emphasis on advising and expectations of quality as articulated by a set of advising competencies. Advising activities are assessed both qualitatively and quantitatively on a periodic basis.

The college believes that student retention, learning outcomes, and satisfaction have all been enhanced by the evolution of a comprehensive advising program. This program includes advising from a variety of sources, perspectives, and individuals working as a team toward support of the learner. The potential for adapting dimensions of the college's advising to other undergraduate graduate programs are several. The touchstone for the program lies within the mission of the college and the commitment to see the advising experience through the eyes of the adult learner.

Women's Athletic Student Services
The University of Iowa
Submitted by : Christine Grant

The University of Iowa Women's Athletics Student Services Office is committed to the positive development of the total student-athlete. The overall goal of the program is to assist in the academic and personal growth of the individual as congruent with the overall mission of the University. The methods by which these goals are sought include departmental policies, student advising, educational programming, and the coordination with other university student service offices and programs.

The history and development of Women's Athletics Student Services began nearly fourteen years ago, with the hiring of one part-time graduate student. Today, the office includes a full-time director, two full-time counselors, a three-quarter time academic skills facilitator, and a on-quarter time special projects coordinator. Additionally, on to three graduate student interns participate in practicum experiences each year.

Women's Athletics Student Services collaborates with other University offices such as the Undergraduate Academic Advising Center, the office of Special Support Services, the Center for Career Development and Cooperative Education, the Health Iowa Office, and Student Disability Services. Additionally, we strive to provide unique developmental opportunities for student-athletes that may not be provided elsewhere on this campus, such as our Orientation to Athletics, the First Year Transition Seminar, and the Student Support Seminar.

During the past six years the office has grown to include what we consider all of the necessary components of a successful student services program. The program is recognized across campus as a model program, and its professionals have presented on its various aspects nationally. More importantly, success is measured by the students themselves. High graduation rates, coupled with outstanding academic, athletic, and service accomplishments make our graduates extremely desirable candidates for professional life beyond college.

Directed by: Lori Wright and Rebecca McCollum

Summer Provisional Program

Directed by: Nanette Cheatham and Alzina Duncan

University of Kentucky

Student Support Services (www.usu.edu/sss)

Directed by: Nazih Al-Rashid / (image- Wendy Beck, Carol Sainsbury, Carolyn Glover, Nazih Al-Rashid)

Nominated by: John Mortensen

Probation Intervention Program (www.sarc.sdes.ucf.edu/probation.html)

University of Central Florida

Directed and nominated by: DeLaine Priest / (image)

General College, University of Minnesota

Directed by: Susan Warfield

Nominated by: Avelino Mills-Novoa