1. Year-Long Learning Communities Rethinking the Summer Bridge Nikolas Huot, Assistant Director for First-Year Programs

2. Georgia State University Four-year, public research university Urban environment (downtown Atlanta) 14 th most diverse (racial/ethnic and economic) Over 32,000 students 250 degree programs

3. First-Year Programs Freshmen Learning Communities Academic Coaching Early Alert First-Year Book Peer Mentors Success Academy Panther Excellence Program First-Generation Outreach

4. Spring Admits and Low Performance Freshmen Spring Admits 2008-2012 (vs fall admits) Lower feeling of belonging at Georgia State Fewer HOPE recipients (≈ -20%) More Pell eligible students (≈ +5%) More first-generation students (≈ +7%) Lower 1 semester retention rate (≈ -18%) Lower 1 year retention rate (≈ -10%) Lower institutional GPA (≈ -0.4 points)

5. Spring Admits and Low Performance

6. From Late to Early Admits Purpose Provide a structured academic and co-curricular experience for first-year students whose high school GPA and/or test scores indicate additional academic and personal support would be beneficial. Goals Create a bridge program experience that prepares students for the full-time fall experience. Connect students to key professional staff members during summer, fall, and spring. Provide individualized success plans for each student. Success Academy

7. Admissions based on Freshman Index (500 x HS GPA) + SATV + SATM Fully admitted students Extended learning community (3 semesters) Housing recommended, but not required Academic requirements for fall full-time registration Targeted individualized academic support

8. Success Academy Requirements Summer (7 hours) GSU 1010 New Student Orientation (1) Engl 1101 English Composition I (3) Hist 2110 or PolS 1101 Survey of U.S. History or American Government (3) –Individual Meeting with Academic Coach (twice during summer) –Individual Meeting with Peer Mentor (once during summer) –Individual Meeting with Academic Advisor (twice during summer) –Attend Supplemental Instruction sessions weekly –Attend 3-4 Workshops on Academic Success –Must earn a GPA of 2.5 during summer in order to register full time in fall

9. Success Academy Requirements Fall (12-13 hours) Engl 1102 English Composition II (3) Hist 2110 or PolS 1101 Survey of U.S. History or American Government (3) Math course from Core relevant to major (3) Humanities, Social Sciences, or Science Lab (3-4) –Individual Meeting with Academic Coach (three times during semester) –Individual Meeting with Peer Mentor (twice during semester) –Individual Meeting with Academic Advisor (twice during semester) –Attend Supplemental Instruction sessions weekly –Attend 2-3 Workshops on Academic Success

10. Success Academy Requirements Spring (12-13 hours) Choice of Humanities or Social Sciences pre-selected courses (3) 9-10 additional hours based on recommendation of Academic Advisor –Individual Meeting with Academic Coach (three times during semester) –Individual Meeting with Peer Mentor (at least once during semester) –Individual Meeting with Academic Advisor (twice during semester) –Attend Supplemental Instruction sessions weekly

11. Success Academy Students

12. Success Academy and High Performance Success Academy (vs fall admits) Greater feeling of belonging at Georgia State Fewer HOPE recipients (  -8%) More Pell eligible students (  +16%) More first-generation students (  +4%) Higher 1-semester retention rate (  +2%) Higher 1-year retention rate (  +3%) Similar institutional GPA

13. Success Academy

15. QUESTIONS? COMMENTS!