View a video on the PACE program, an exciting part of the Access and Opportunity Grant.
Those who study higher education policy know that getting students to a college setting early and often is one way to increase enrollment, but creating opportunities for junior high and high schools students to have positive college experiences while they're still in grades 8-12 takes a considerable amount of resources and effort.
To help focus the kind of energy necessary to increase college enrollment for underrepresented populations, Inver Hills has recently partnered with Century College to create the Access & Opportunity Center of Excellence. According to Tadael Emiru, who oversees day-to-day operations of the program, "Higher Education is no longer an option in an increasingly competitive global economy. The Access and Opportunity Center of Excellence serves as great bridge to higher education for those who might otherwise be left behind in the struggle to achieve the American Dream." Targeted groups
include students who would be the first in their families to go to college, students of color, and
other underrepresented groups.In order help students realize that a college education is within their reach, the Access and Opportunity Center initiative focuses on several different components, several of which began last summer.
The first is the Preparing to Achieve a College Education or PACE program. It pays for high
school juniors and seniors to take up to 24 credits during summer months and on Saturdays
during the school year. Students can enroll in courses such as English, film studies, and
interpersonal communication. This past summer 62 students were enrolled in the program,
with an almost 100% success rate.
While the PACE program serves students who plan to attend a wide variety of postsecondary
institutions, the Summer Bridge program is designed specifically for students who enroll at Inver Hills. The program pays for students to take college-credit courses between their senior year in high school and the fall semester at Inver Hills, and also provides them with strategies to make a successful transition to college studies. This past summer, 25 students were enrolled in the Summer Bridge program and all of them passed.
Another important component of the program is family engagement. In both the PACE and
Summer Bridge programs, family members are encouraged to attend orientation sessions. Once
they are on campus, these family members are not only given advice on how to support those in
their family attending college, but are also shown how they can also register and earn college
credits themselves. Daylong Family Engagement programs will also take place on weekends in
October.
An existing program at Inver Hills that has been rolled into the Access & Opportunity
initiative involves Learning Communities. They are designed to provide first-year college
students with a cohort of classmates who take the same courses, get extra support services, and
learn success strategies that will help them no matter what career or life path they choose.
A program that is just starting this fall is Teacher Collaborations. It supports dialogue and
best-practice sharing between middle/high school teachers and college faculty to create
customized readiness activities for middle and high school students. Another program set to begin this fall is the RU Ready? day. On November 1, middle school students and their families will be invited to come to campus to learn about careers, college life, and financial aid through hands-on experiences.
Next year, a Summer Enrichment program will provide hands-on learning activities for
eighth and ninth grade students in partner schools, which include West St. Paul, Mendota
Heights, and Eagan school district; South St. Paul Public Schools; Inver Grove Heights
Community Schools; Burnsville-Eagan-Savage school district; South Washington County
Schools; Lakeville Area Public Schools, Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan school district; White
Bear Lake Area Schools, and Saint Paul Public Schools.