Emerging Scholars Get a Taste of College Life before Classes Begin

Pilot program designed to bridge the gap between high school and college

WOOSTER, Ohio - What if incoming college students could get a taste of campus life before the first day of class? What if they had a chance to take a course, live in a residence hall, and sample the food? Would such an experience increase their chances for success?

Administrators and faculty members at The College of Wooster believe that it would, so they recently launched "Emerging Wooster Scholars," a pilot program designed to bridge the gap between high school and college.

This summer, 19 students from the Class of 2012 accepted an invitation to come to campus and get a jump on college life. This diverse group, which consisted of students from large and small schools in rural, urban, and suburban areas as well as international students from Ecuador and Sudan, arrived on campus in mid-June and wrapped up their "mini-semester" on July 3. During their 19-day visit, they took a specially designed class ("The Value of Higher Education"), which focused on the development of math, reading, and critical writing skills. They also were assigned jobs that required them to work eight hours each week. And, in their free time, they did what most college students do - hang out with their friends.

Emerging Wooster Scholars is a joint venture between the Dean of Students and the Dean of Faculty with support from the Hewlett-Mellon Presidential Discretionary Fund for Institutional Renewal. The program is designed to provide an opportunity for academic and social transition, including an introduction to the various learning resources on campus and a robust schedule of social activities to acquaint them with the campus and the community. College-preparatory outreach programs like this one are growing in number and popularity because of their effectiveness in helping students achieve a higher level of academic success, according to a recent National Education Longitudinal Study by the Department of Education.

William Macauley, associate professor of English and director of Wooster's Writing Center who co-taught the overview class with Jennifer Roche, assistant professor of mathematics and computer science, would agree with that assessment. "I think it's a great idea, and I was glad to be a part of it," he said. "I have done this at other institutions, and I think it gives schools like Wooster another way to achieve diversity. It also helps the students get a head start on their college experience, which is often much different from what they were expecting."

During the next nine months, the progress of these students will be monitored to determine what type of impact the program had on their college experiences. "We're interested in seeing how it affected their first year," said Anne Gates, a member of the Dean of Students staff and one of the coordinators of the program. "If it produces the results we anticipate, we hope to expand the program next year."