Grooming the high school student for college by Bob Mullin They all choose Portland State University: - Minority students in Portland middle schools and high schools who want to enrich themselves in the f r e q u e n t l y ~ n e g l e c t e d fields of engineering and science in preparation for college. - Children of low-income families or of parents who never earned a college degree, seeking educational assistance as they attend high school to prepare them for further education. - Academically gifted high school seniors who can', wait for college and elect to earn credit for coursework taken in their high school classrooms. Such diverse groups of students are the benefactors of a series of special programs offered by Portland Stale to help groom high school students and others (or a college experience. Behind these programs rests a philosophy, as expressed by Forbes Will iams, Dean of Undergraduate Studies: "Because we are the kind of university we are, located where we are, we have the need, most of us think, to offer all sorts of programs to assist certain groups of students." Williams says such programs exist despite a move by the State Board of Higher Education several years ago, during the severest period of budget cu tbacks, 10 eliminate remedial course work at the state's universities. "/ want to be sure certain students are not arbitrarily excluded. " Of course, at the same time, the state board instituted new requirements that upgraded courses Oregon high school students have to take to be admitted to state colleges and universities. Beginning in the fall of 1985, in order to qualify to enler Portland State, students had to achieve at least a 2.5 grade point average and complete 14 required units in the specific college preparatory Course areas - English (4 units), mathematics (4 units), science (2 units), social studies (3 units), other college prep courses \2 units). Williams says he is a "strong supporter" of the new requirements. "This last group o( incoming students" - the first required to meet the new admission standards - "is the best we've ever had," he acknowledgt."S. However, Williams also has a concern. "I want to be sure certain students are not arbitrarily excluded when they could be successful, too," he says. He fears the removal of remedial classes cou(d do just that. Voicing il similar sentimenl is Oreilia Forbes, Vice President for Student Affairs. "I have great concern Rid St.olnf>k, a graduatf> sfudent in psycholog)', ' u ' o ~ Damon P a ~ o n s , a sophomore al Milwaukie High SchooL in the subject of geograph y as pari of r!Je, Upward Bound program atPSU. about any threats to programs," she says. "There's a great need - greater than we are able to meet at this time, especially in urban areas ... with a high number of minorities and low incomes." she says. Science for minorities One program Forbes says she feels "very excited" about is a new one which began only last summer. Called MESA (mathematics, engineering and science achievement), the program is designed to increase the numbers of blacks, hispanics and American Indians in fields traditionally underrepresented by such groups. Chik Erzurumlu, Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science which oversees MESA, says it is based on a program that began in Caliiornia in 1970 and achieved '·an excellent track record" by providing such services as tutoring, study groups, field trips, advising and awards to minorities. "The goal is to help these minorities to gain additional background at the middle school and high school levels so they won" need remedial help and in fact will have more than average skills when they enter college," says Erzurumlu. Supported by grants from private industry as well as PSU and the Portland School District to the tune of $200,000, MESA involves 200 students at present and the plan is to gradually expand the program. A boost into college Two federally funded programsBOOST Educational Talent Search and Upward Bound - "have been quite effective," according to f o ~ s , in encouraging low-income students and/or those whose parents did not attend collegt' to continue their education. Each year BOOST reaches perhaps 700 IXltenlial college students in the Portland area who are not presently in high school, offering information and counseling designed to encourage their interest in college. Perhaps half this number eventually attends college, and about 70 choose Portland State. Unlike BOOST, Upward Bound serves needy high school students and offers tutoring, counseling and group meetings to help them succeed academically and prepare them fOT a college education. About 40 participate in the PSU program. Challenging the gifted student Not all programs are designed for students needing special assistance. The Challenge Program is one offered to the most talented and gifted students in high school. A self-supporting program, Challenge provides high school seniors carrying at least 3.0 grade point averages and the recommendations of their high school teachers with an opportunity to eam college credit for taking university-level courses in high school. An average of 500 students in Portland metropolitan area high schools annually take advantage of the program which offers coursework in computer science, economics, English, f o r e i ~ n languages, history, mathematics ~ / 1 d education from PSU-approveC! hIgh school instructors. "Students enrolled in the program found it really helped prepare them for the pace of a college class," says Challenge Coordinator Karen Tosi. "These students t}'pically elected to stay in c o l l e ~ e the entire four years rather than finish early and, as a result, they were able to take more elective courses. AI!>O, because they had earned college credit in high school, they were able to take lighter course loads their freshman year." Saturday Academy Similarly challenges junior and senior high students with minicourses in high technology and related fields. PSU is one of several colleges and universities supplying instructors and classrooms for Saturday Academy, says board member William Paudler, Dean of PSU's College of liberal Arts and Sciences. Other programs that assist students in making the transition to college academics include: - A summer coUege preparatory class taught by Bob Vieira, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs, which is offered to entering freshmen to orient them to PSU and college life and \0 improve their reading, writing and study skills. Vieira says about 70 students participated last year and he is hoping for more in 1986. - A series of eight monthly chemistry symposiums for high school students and teachers on subjects designed to enrich the high school chemistry curriculum and interest students in pursuing a college program. Assistant chemistry professor William Becker, who helps run the program, says about 60 students and 20 teachers are participating this year. " . . . it really helped them prepare for the pace of a college class." - A "women and math" lecture program involving 15 to 20 visits by PSU faculty to public schools and a career day event at PSU involving 200 junior and senior high school students. "The program is designed to encourage students, especially young women, to take math and science Courses and keep their career options open," says PSU math professor Marge Enneking, who serves as coordinator of the program. Even with all these programs to meet a wide assortment of needs and interests, Williams says, as could be expected, that not everyone is satisfied with the abilities of entering PSU students. "People complain about the writing that students do when they come from high school," he says. "The truth of the matter is, we have a large number of students who do very well in writing. It's just that we're attempting to offer the opportunity of an education to as many people as can take advantage of it. Once you do thatr you must take into account the fact that some students are less motivated than others, that the whole range of intellectual abilities is involved. "We have a large group of people who didn't go to coJlese who now do. That's because we're not freezing them out. We believe everybody should have a shot. " (Bob Mullin is a freelance writer in Portland and a frequent contributor to Perspective. He is also a former PSU student.) PSU Perspective, Winter 19861 page 7
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