This year the Student Initiated Recruitment and Retention Committee (SIRRC) initiated many new retention programs such as GUIDES (Guiding Undergraduates In Developing Educational Success) and witnessed their great impact within the UCSB community.
The GUIDES mentorship programs assist both UCSB’s first year undergraduates and students from San Marcos High School. We provide students with the resources necessary for them to know that a higher education is possible and that they are not alone during their four years in college.
The GUIDES program at San Marcos High School provides mentors and tutors to assist students with their assignments and provide them with workshops covering A-G requirements and college prep presentations.
The GUIDES program at UCSB pairs incoming first years with upperclassmen to assist them and provide these students with the information required to succeed at UCSB. We have different workshops such as time management, sex and relationships, and volunteer opportunities for the students. All mentors have a vast knowledge of all the resources on campus that may be helpful for the students throughout their four years in college.
SIRRC also has different focused projects such as: college tours for TRiO, Channel Island’s Upward Bound, and other college prep organizations; presentations and workshops from the University Office of the President for outreach organizations; volunteer opportunities; an A.S. alternative library known as the Book Bank for students who can’t afford to buy books where they can check out books necessary for all courses for free; clothing drives; and serving as a funding resource for other campus organizations that do outreach and retention programming .
Due to success of our programs, SIRRC is extending its programs into the summer to impact even more students before they begin the school year. These projects include a new A.S. retention program GUIDES Summer Orientation (GSO), Freshman Summer Start Program (FSSP) Study Jams, FSSP Resource Workshops, AB-540 Students Summer Orientation, and Transfer Students Summer Orientation.
One of SIRRC’s main projects would be GUIDES Summer Orientation (GSO) that would be held August 2 – August 4, 2011 at the UCSB campus. GSO is an introductory program that will ease the transition for students from high school to college. It will provide additional resources for the students and prepare them well for the upcoming academic year. Furthermore, GSO will offer a pathway to success for the undergraduate population with consultative guidance on academic achievement, leadership involvement, and community service. By participating in GSO, these students will automatically be admitted to our GUIDES academic year mentorship program.
We truly believe GSO will be invaluable to new students. It will enrich their experience as UCSB undergraduates and their lives beyond college by making them aware of the many resources available to them and the ways that they can get involved in their on and off campus communities.
SIRRC plans to execute other summer programs in collaboration with the Freshman Summer Start Program (FSSP). SIRRC will host Study Jams on August 15 and September 5, syncing according to their midterms and finals dates to make sure the students have a safe, comfortable place to study along with free testing material and snacks. Resource Workshops for the program’s participants regarding resources such as Financial Aid, Career Services, Counseling Services, CLAS, the Student Resources Building and Office of Student Life will be held on August 1, August 10 and August 25 in order for them to be aware of the resources available for their student career success. Students will have much more confidence during their FSSP experience to start of their first year in college.
SIRRC plans to provide Summer Orientations targeting the retention of Transfer Students and AB-540 students on September 26 and September 27. These proposed projects have the purpose of advising students about relevant resources for them and therefore retain them in school. Transfer students have just as many questions about their resources as a first year straight from high school. The only disadvantage of a being a Transfer student is that they only have 2 years to find all of the relevant resources they need in order to graduate successfully. AB-540 students also need to be aware of the same resources and perhaps even more due to the stress that entails being an undocumented university student. They will be informed of local scholarships that can aid their financial need, support groups on campus in which they can meet other students to network and address whatever other concerns they might have about attending an university.
We at SIRRC know that these efforts are essential, not only here at UCSB, but throughout the UC’s. With this in mind, SIRRC has found it necessary to work in collaboration with other UC retention and outreach efforts to exchange resources and address UC-wide issues on our campuses. In order to do this, we hope to organize a conference where representatives from Student Initiated Outreach Programs from each UC campus can meet. Such a conference would be the first of its kind and allow A.S. SIRRC to be in solidarity with retention and recruitment efforts system-wide.
