Editor’s Note: This is the second installment in SEED’s four-part series on the benefits of high-quality on-campus student supports. Here, we dig into the importance of academic support services such as academic advising, tutoring, textbook lending, study sessions, and instructional support which are designed to help students overcome barriers to persistence and degree attainment. Our first article covered what strong financial supports look like at right fit colleges, and why those services are so critical for college success.
A Smooth College Transition—It’s Within Reach with SEED
SEED’s students gain many tools in preparation for postsecondary success. They follow a rigorous academic curriculum, including AP courses, dual enrollment at community colleges, and experiential learning opportunities. And in college transition seminars, they continue to hone their time management skills, determine a career path, and gain an understanding of academic expectations.
To ensure our graduates continue to have access to tools designed to help them excel, SEED’s right fit college matching process identifies colleges and universities that mirror our commitment to centering student needs. We have learned that right fit colleges and universities are deliberate about offering high-quality supports. For example, at a right fit college students can walk into a tutoring center and be quickly matched with a tutor in the subject area where they need help. These colleges also have writing centers where students can develop and sharpen their college-level writing skills. Ashley Bargeron, college success manager for SEED’s College Transition & Success (CTS) program, shared with us the importance of services such as writing centers, “First year students generally need additional support with writing at the collegiate level. So, with a writing center, its ideal for students to be able to access support, immediately and ongoing.”
In addition to offering strong academic supports, right fit colleges demonstrate additional key attributes: clear communication to students of all the services available and how to access them, and the capacity to serve students when they need it. Mrs. Bargeron explains the impact of schools that do not have the right fit criteria for student supports. “At these schools essential services don’t exist, they are not well known, or when a student tries to access them there is a waiting list.” Research by Tyton Partners found 60 percent of students were unaware of the on-campus supports offered to them at their college or university, which can negatively impact student retention and success.
SEED is committed to supporting the postsecondary dreams and goals of our students; therefore, our CTS advisors not only guide our students to continue their education at right fit colleges, but they also ensure that they are making the most of on-campus services. “Connecting with services on campus, including tutoring, is an important part of our College Outreach Visits. We go to offices on campus with our advisees. It serves as a way to bridge that gap, to help them figure out the questions that they need to be asking. Sometimes they need someone familiar to break the ice,” shares Mrs. Bargeron. A guide on postsecondary student success published by the Institute of Education Sciences What Works Clearinghouse explains how college students may meet barriers to accessing the services to overcome academic setbacks that can obstruct their path to college completion. The guide notes that, “Though postsecondary institutions might offer supports that could help students navigate these challenges, students are often unaware of these supports or might have difficulty accessing them because the supports are either limited or offered at inconvenient times or locations.”
Right Fit Colleges Are Key to Helping Students Stay the Course
The path to success includes leveraging the tools to build one’s capacity to achieve. SEED’s college transition and success advising, combined with our right fit college matching, contribute to the network of resources SEED graduates have at their disposal. We are proud to partner with the many colleges and universities that share our commitment to college success and completion for all students by providing on-campus supports which reduce the barriers faced by low-income, first-generation students.
To learn more about right fit college matching, and SEED’s College Matching Technology (CMT), click here or contact Vincena Allen, Chief Growth Officer, at vincena@seedfoundation.com.