Youth to College Handbook

The "Youth to College" program is designed to address the important issue of students from underrepresented groups who do not know that higher education can be a viable option for them. The University of San Diego and three university partners--Mesa College, San Diego City College (SDCC), and University of California San Diego (UCSD)--partner with schools and after-school partners. This is part of national efforts to address the important issue of educational inequity. Research on college attendance emphasizes the important of: academic skills, peer influence, knowledge of the value of a college education and the practical steps to obtain it. This program seeks to build the chances that under-represented students will know that college is a viable choice for them. This program is sponsored by California Campus Compact with funding from the Corporation for National Service "Learn and Serve" program, and is a statewide project involving 12 campuses and 12,000 college students and youth each year for three years (2006-2009). The grant is $40,000 annually with a $60,000 match each year for three years. As noted above, the purpose is to help interest and prepare students from underserved populations to attend college. While tutoring/mentoring is one strategy, the other is to do joint service-learning projects. The intention is also that university administrators will gain more understanding of what students see as barriers to college attendance. (author)