Owens' pilot program signs up 100 students

An initiative to help students succeed in college is being launched by Owens Community College.

About 100 students are expected to participate, beginning this fall semester, in the two-year pilot phase of the program known as Project DEgree. Owens, which was selected by the Gateway to College National Network to participate in the program, will receive a $250,000 grant as part of Project DEgree.

The program is designed for 18-to-26-year-olds who have high school diplomas or GEDs but need further preparation for college-level course work.

Students will receive intensive individualized academic and social support and will enroll in project-based curriculum.

The goal is to help students who need to remedial classes before advancing to other course work build and maintain the momentum to reach their educational goals.

Instructors will help prepare the students for the work world, said Tamara Williams, Owens interim vice provost.

For instance, students will be expected to adhere to class schedules, attend meetings and study sessions outside class time, read and complete assignments, and participate in outside commitments, she said.

Admission to program is by application, and students who are accepted will be required to sign letters of commitment for an academic year, she said.

Owens is marketing the new program to community organizations such as the Urban League, for the upcoming fall semester, Ms. Williams said, and for the spring semester, Owens will distribute flyers and will conduct school visits.

Ms. Williams said a goal of the program is to get students successfully through the developmental education, which she said will increase their likelihood of gaining college certificates or degrees.

Students accepted into the program will become part of a group of 20 to 25. Together, they will take course work or supplemental tutoring in reading, writing, and math as well as a college survival and success course.

After completing initial courses, students will progress as a group to the next sequence of reading, writing, and math classes, plus a study0skills course.

As an incentive, Project DEgree participants can receive $300.

During the second year of the initiative, Owens students would move into college-level course work and progress toward certificates or degrees. They will be encouraged to take 12 credit hours of course work each semester.

Additionally, each will be supported by a completion adviser to help connect to college resources and support services.

Owens will be one of nine schools in the pilot phase of the program, said Bernadette DeVito, communications director for Gateway to College National Network, a national nonprofit organization based in Portland, Ore.

The organization is working to cut the dropout rate and trigger change across developmental education in college. Strategies include creating programs, building partnerships, conducting research and sharing knowledge, helping effect policy and regulatory changes, and providing customized consulting services. It also offers training, technical assistance, and professional development opportunities to Gateway to College and Project DEgree programs across the country.

So far, Owens is the only Ohio school among the five schools selected, Ms. DeVito said.

After the two-year pilot program, "it's our hope selected schools will sustain the program," she said. "We're giving a two-year start up grant."

The idea, she said, is that the revenue schools generate from retaining students will help offset costs for the program to continue, she said.

A return-on-investment study will be conducted for the pilot program, Ms. DeVito said.