Sixty first-generation, low-income or disabled students from three area high schools will benefit from a new $250,000 federal grant to West Virginia Universitys Upward Bound program.
The funding is part of a $2.69 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Education targeted to encourage disadvantaged West Virginia students to pursue higher education.
Barbara Copenhaver-Bailey, director of Student Support Services (SSS), commented,We feel it is very important to have WVU reaching out to the community and helping students who have the potential to go to college but might not otherwise have the opportunity.
The program, which will begin in October, will provide tutoring and mentoring services to the high school students to help them obtain the skills needed for college.
The grant will serve students from Clay Battelle, Preston and Grafton schools in grades nine through 12.Our staff will go to the high schools and work with the students to help familiarize them with and prepare them for college,said Copenhaver-Bailey.
It also contains a six-week summer program to give students a taste of college life. Students will be brought on campus to live in the residence halls and take two University classes.
During the school year, Saturday sessions for parents and students will also be provided.
Once the program is up and running, we will have Saturday workshops for parents and students to help them complete college applications and prepare financial aid forms,she said.
One of the components is to bring in the families in the community to help them understand and support the students. Being first-generation families, parents may not be familiar with what to expect in college. That family support is very important.
The student selection process will be initiated this fall.
We have been in contact with all three high schools, and they will identify someone for us to work with from their staff. We will use an application process to identify students who may be eligible,Copenhaver-Bailey said.
She added that the Upward Bound program will compliment the Student Support Services program already in existence at WVU .
The Student Support program is the next step. Its like the college component of Upward Bound. It helps students pick a major and provides tutoring, academic advising and financial aid assistance,she said.
The new Upward Bound grant will provide three full-time positions at the University in addition to 10-15 student positions for tutoring.
SSS and Upward Bound, along with the McNair Scholarship Program, are a part of the Universitys TRIO program, which was established through the Higher Education Act of 1965 to help students overcome barriers to higher education.
TRIO programs help students to conquer class, social and cultural barriers to higher education.