Financial aid isn’t the only thing getting students through college.
Recent research by the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation at the Institute for Higher Education Policy suggests that financial aid, while necessary, is not sufficient to ensure equal access to higher education for all types of students.
The study primarily examined state-run and state-funded programs that aim to improve students’ success in post-secondary education once enrolled. Although no such programs exist in Tennessee, The University of Memphis does offer several early intervention programs for incoming freshmen and students having trouble adjusting to the college environment.
Despite many years of investment in equalizing post-secondary education opportunity in the United States, according to the study, gaps in graduation rates persist between low-income and higher-income students, and between white students and other racial and ethnic groups.
“This is because a range of variables influence college graduation,” said Alisa F. Cunningham, director of research at the institute. “The variables include academic preparation, student and parent aspirations, access to information about financial aid and other factors.”
Early intervention programs are the key to keeping the under privileged in institutions of higher education and helping these students graduate said Cunningham.
Early intervention programs target educationally and economically disadvantaged students early in the educational process. The most successful programs aim at encouraging high-risk students to attend college and to graduate once enrolled. According to the study these programs go far beyond ensuring students’ financial ability to stay in college but also provide academic and transitional tutoring.
The University offers several programs through its Educational Support Program office in Dunn Hall. ESP has seven learning centers on campus that provide tutoring for students having trouble in several general education courses said ESP Coordinator Barbara Bekis. ESP also provides onsite informational seminars about The University.
“ESP provides tutoring in the residence halls where students live,” Bekis said. “We also provide seminars on a regular basis to provide students with academic advice and what they can do for academic success.”
Bekis also goes into classrooms and talks with students about the programs offered through ESP and where they can go to get the help they need.
“I go into the classrooms and talk to the students who are new to The University to let them know about individual tutoring, about the learning centers and other ways they can get help in making the adjustment to college,” Bekis said.
Through ESP, students locate free individual tutoring and Supplemental Instruction. SI is a pilot retention program through which The University provides a series of weekly review sessions for students who are taking historically difficult courses.
For more information on the early intervention programs offered by The University visit www.memphis.edu or contact Barbara Bekis at 678-2704.
