The Ohio State University College Access Programs

The Ohio State University has implemented and currently sustains a wide variety of college access programs, particularly at the Economic Access Office. College access program participants range from very young, economically-disadvantaged children and their families to first-generation college students. The office was founded by recently retired college access guru Tally Hart. Tally has also recently represented OSU at the Ohio College Access Network (OCAN), an extensive state-wide effort to increase college going rates in Ohio.

Recently retired college access guru Tally Hart talks college access at OSU (preview)

To view the full 14-minute interview with Tally click here.

OSU has also teamed up with Columbus-based nonprofit I Know I Can (Executive Director Katina Fullen is also a OCAN representative) to participate in the Blueprint:College series to educate middle-schoolers, high-school students and their parents on the steps to successfully prepare for and enroll in college.

The research is simple: “Today more than six out of ten Americans believe that many qualified and motivated students do not have an opportunity to receive a higher education. Nationwide there is a tremendous opportunity gap between high-income and low-income students. The best-prepared students from the lowest socio-economic quartile have the same chance of attending college as the least-prepared students from the highest quartile.” (http://www.accessedu.org/about/need)

A recent study by the American Council on Education found that 1.8 million low-and moderate-income students in our nation failed to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA), a required piece of the college enrollment puzzle. “An estimated 1.5 million of those applicants would likely have qualified for a Pell Grant if they had applied.“ (http://www.accessedu.org/about/need/76-increasing-college-access)

And we all know that workers with a bachelor’s degree will make more than workers with only a high school diploma.

So how do we change these statistics?

The KnowHow2Go curriculum is successfully used by many of OSU’s college access programs to educate students and families about the 4 simple steps to college access, which includes filling out the required FASFA. Tally Hart also suggests that near-to-peer mentoring is more successful than the guidance-counselor relationships of previous times, that middle and high-school students would rather have a college “buddy” than an experienced professional as a mentor.

The Ohio Campus Compact (OCC) VISTA serving at OSU, Jessica Rowekamp, says that her favorite part of the job is working with the students. In any given day she may see in excess of 100 middle-school students on the OSU campus.

You can learn a little more about our current VISTAs and their programs on our Current VISTAs page. If you are a potential AmeriCorps candidate and would like to be considered for future positions, visit our How to Apply page.

Overview: OSU’s College Access Programs

* College Access Visitation Program: During autumn and spring, OSU hosts campus visits three times each week that are specifically designed for underserved student groups from central Ohio in grades 6-8. The visit is limited to low income, minority, and/or first-generation student groups who may not otherwise have adequate exposure to college. The goals of this session are to inform students about the opportunities available to them after high school and to discuss what college life and the determination and dedication it takes to be a college student. The session is not OSU specific, but focuses on college life in general. I Know I Can advisors also do some prep work with the participating classes.

* Blueprint:College Middle and High School: OSU is partnered with Columbus-based non-profit organization I Know I Can to provide workshops for students and their families to learn about the importance of starting college preparation as early as possible.

Below, 2 Columbus city school based students (Kennedy Reissland-Woods [blue jacket] and Mikeesha Wallace [tan jacket]) and a family member, Gaye Reissland, discuss the benefits of the Blueprint:College workshop.

 

* First Generation Dinner: This dinner is the product of direct feedback from OSU’s very own 1stgeneration Buckeyes who said that knowing that there were faculty at OSU who are first in their families to go to college makes a difference in building their own confidence about their ability to succeed in college!  As one student put it, “When I sit in my classes, it seems like every professor has college-going roots back to the Mayflower!”  At this dinner, first-generation faculty will chat informally with current 1st generation Buckeyes and show them that faculty are people, too!

* First Generation Buckeye Leadership Connection: The First Generation Buckeye Leadership Connection is for incoming OSU Freshmen who are first generation college students, most of whom are low-income students from central Ohio south to the Ohio River. Research shows that these students are most likely to drop out of OSU between their first and second year.  The strategic goal for the University is 95% retention rate; this group of students have an 88% retention rate.  Students who attended the first program in 2009 returned at a 98% rate. The FGBLC teaches them networking, resume and interviewing skills, as well as how to utilize their own strengths within a team.  The primary focus is how these students can build social capital and to network in a professional setting.  The FGBLC is hosted by Ohio State’s Economic Access Initiative and Undergraduate Admissions/First Year Experience. The Connection will also teach new students how to talk to professors, engage them with first generation OSU faculty and community leaders, and network with their fellow students and others at the University who can help them achieve their goals and dreams throughout their college experience and beyond.  This event molds students into young professionals who are poised to make a difference at Ohio State and in the communities they live and work in after college.

* College Mentors for Kids: OSU founded the first Ohio chapter of this program.

* Senior to Senior: A mentoring program for high school students.

* Children’s Hunger Alliance: Is a statewide nonprofit organization committed to breaking the cycle of childhood hunger in Ohio. AmeriCorps members present the KnowHow2Go information to after school programs at this new community partner site to contribute to the commitment.

If you are not yet a member and would like to join OCC please visit the Join OCC page.