Nationwide information suggests in the present day’s faculty college students are much less ready to reach faculty than earlier cohorts, due partly to the COVID-19 pandemic and distant instruction. College students lack tutorial and socio-emotional readiness, directors say, prompting schools to implement new interventions to get them on top of things.
For years, Mount Saint Mary’s College in California has provided a summer season bridge program for college kids who could also be much less ready to make the transition to school, akin to first-generation college students.
This summer season, MSMU launched Summer time Pathways, which is designed for all incoming college students to get a head begin on faculty. They full two faculty programs free of charge and are capable of join with friends and discover campus earlier than beginning the time period.
“We felt the sooner we will have interaction college students, the higher,” mentioned Amanda Romero, interim assistant provost.
The way it works: Summer time Pathways is a six-week, credit-bearing expertise that takes place in the course of the summer season, after orientation in June however earlier than courses begin in August.
Throughout this system, college students full a Summer time Pathway seminar and one further introductory course, selecting amongst sociology, English and arithmetic.
College students take courses Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; on Tuesdays and Thursdays they take part in workshops about managing their time, coping with impostor syndrome or sustaining well-being.
“We’ve invited the entire campus group to return in, meet with our college students in particular person, speak about their careers, their places of work, how they ended up on the Mount, what their hopes and aspirations are for the long run,” mentioned Elizabeth Sturgeon, interim assistant provost and director for Summer time Pathways.
The purpose is to make college students conscious of campus assets and join them with school and employees early of their faculty careers.
This system additionally takes college students on enjoyable excursions round Los Angeles, together with to the ballet, the Hollywood Bowl and the Getty Museum.
The expertise is free, and college students are given a $250 stipend to assist pay for fuel and meals. They’ll additionally pay $3,000 to stay in a residence corridor for the six-week program in the event that they don’t wish to commute to campus every day.
A group method: Whereas many school work on eight-month contracts and have the summers off, Sturgeon and Romero mentioned it wasn’t tough to get professors engaged and on campus for this system.
“We had departments that had by no means participated in Summer time Pathways earlier than, by no means knew what it was about, opting in and coming down in particular person to current to our college students,” Sturgeon mentioned.
“It’s necessary for our core school to get in entrance of scholars, and it is a nice alternative to do exactly that,” Romero mentioned.
Returning college students additionally stepped as much as function peer mentors for brand new college students.
This system has paid off so far, leaders mentioned, with college students hitting the bottom operating firstly of the time period.
“It affords a smoother transition,” Romero mentioned. “A variety of nervousness with beginning a brand new place is ‘the place’s this, the place’s that, the place do I am going?’”
“They know what the assets are, they know the place to park, what to order within the cafeteria,” Sturgeon mentioned. “They’ve a pal group; they’ve that one peer mentor who’s their pal they’ll attain out to. From day one, within the enterprise of being a university scholar, they’re an alum after six weeks.”
What’s subsequent: In summer season 2025, 66 out of 471 incoming college students participated in Summer time Pathways, partaking in 5 completely different programs. And 98.5 % of the pathways individuals matriculated within the fall.
Sooner or later, campus leaders hope to introduce project-based studying into the programs, interweaving the college’s mission as a Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet establishment.
“We simply wish to make it greater going ahead, with extra courses and college students collaborating,” Sturgeon mentioned.
The overarching dream is to get all incoming college students to enroll, however directors acknowledge that those that don’t stay within the area might face further obstacles to partaking in in-person actions as a result of they lack housing. Sturgeon and Romero are pushing for added assets to supply housing and searching for options to handle the necessity for added funding and staffing.
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This text has been up to date to right the whole fall enrollment for Mount Saint Mary’s College for fall 2025.
