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Frequently Asked Questions for: Advising - Emerging Scholars Program- What are the purpose and goals of the program?
- When does the program begin?
- Where did the money come from to establish the grant for this program?
- Who is eligible?
- How do students find out about the program?
- Why should a student join the Emerging Scholars Program?
- How does a student apply for the Emerging Scholars Program?
- What is the student agreeing to do by choosing to participate in and being accepted into the Emerging Scholars Program?
- How many students will be in the program and how are they selected?
- How will students be notified if they are accepted for the Emerging Scholars Program?
- Are Math 106 and Math 108 considered college prep courses for the Emerging Scholars Program?
- How is a student given an Emerging Scholars Grant?
- How much can a student receive from the Emerging Scholars Grant?
- When will the Emerging Scholars Grant be paid (disbursed)?
- What criteria must a student meet to have continued eligibility for the Emerging Scholars Grant?
- Can a student retain eligibility for the Emerging Scholars Grant if one or more college prep courses are not successfully completed with a "C" or better grade?
- If at the mid-term grade check point a student is not maintaining a "C" or better grade and therefore those credits do not qualify for the Emerging Scholars Grant, but at the end of the semester the student is able to bring his/her grade up to a "C" or better grade, would the student then be paid the second disbursement of the Emerging Scholars Grant?
- If a student becomes ineligible for the Emerging Scholars Grant, what is the student's status in the Emerging Scholars Program?
- Will participating students be able to co-enroll in other courses?
- Why was this program created and who was involved?
- Why the name change from STAR to Emerging Scholars?
- Can students participate in both the Emerging Scholars and TRIO programs?
What are the purpose and goals of the program?The Emerging Scholars Program has been created to provide academic and minimal financial support to new students with college prep needs in two or more academic areas (reading, math and/or English). The goals are to help students adjust to college, provide support to develop skills necessary for college-level courses, and create a support system that will encourage and allow a student to successfully persist to graduation.
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When does the program begin?This program begins Fall 2007; however, students may apply for the program during the fall registration enrollment period.
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Where did the money come from to establish the grant for this program?The Board of Trustees established a fund for institutional grants designed to support and reward academic success. This grant will utilize a portion of this money to provide grants to selected students with college prep needs. The Financial Aid Office will administer the grant portion of the Emerging Scholars Program.
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Who is eligible?Students who meet the definition of a new student as stated below, who have a HS diploma or GED, and who have college prep needs in two or more academic areas (math, English, and/or reading).
New Student—“Students who are degree/certificate seeking and first-time, for credit, attendees to Aims Community College. First-time is defined as a student with no ‘for credit’ academic transcript at Aims with the exception of credits that were earned through concurrent enrollment while in high school. Transfer students are not eligible for this program.”
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How do students find out about the program?Once a new student (see definition above) completes the Accuplacer assessment, he/she will meet with an academic advisor who will review the student’s assessment scores and the program criteria to determine initial eligibility.
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Why should a student join the Emerging Scholars Program?By voluntarily applying for this program, qualified students become eligible for an institution grant based on the number of college prep credits being taken and successfully completed during a semester. In addition, the student will meet with an academic advisor on a regular basis to discuss academic progress and strategies for student success.
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How does a student apply for the Emerging Scholars Program?The academic advisor will present the Emerging Scholars Application Form to the student after verifying eligibility for the program. The student will then initial and sign the application form and return it to the advisor who will forward the application to the Retention Coordinator.
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What is the student agreeing to do by choosing to participate in and being accepted into the Emerging Scholars Program?
- Participate in an Emerging Scholars welcome and orientation prior to the start of classes.
- Meet 3 times each semester with the assigned advisor.
- Allow the institution to place a registration hold on his/her account requiring advisor approval for any changes (add/drop/withdrawal).
- Attend a minimum of 2 student success workshops during each semester (to be determined in conjunction with the student’s advisor).
- Enroll in and complete AAA 101 – College 101: The Student Experience.
- Enroll in and complete college prep courses with a grade of “C” or better.
- Have faculty member complete and return mid-term progress report for college prep courses.
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How many students will be in the program and how are they selected?For the 2007-2008 academic year, the program is designed to serve 300 students. Selected students will be allowed to enter both fall and spring terms on all campuses as long as slots are available. The grant will be allocated on a first-come, first-serve basis. In order to ensure access for students on all campuses, the following matrix will be used:
Greeley—250 slots
Loveland/Ft. Lupton—40 slots (20 each)
Downtown Campus—10 slots
This matrix will be evaluated on a regular basis to determine if adjustments need to be made.
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How will students be notified if they are accepted for the Emerging Scholars Program? Once a student has made application to the Emerging Scholars Program, their application materials will be forwarded to the Retention Coordinator. The application will be reviewed and eligibility for the program will be established. Students selected for the Emerging Scholars Program will be notified by postal mail and email from the Retention Coordinator.
A copy of the notification will be forwarded to their Retention Advisor. If the available slots for the program have been filled, eligible students will be placed on a waitlist and will be placed into the program as slots become available.
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Are Math 106 and Math 108 considered college prep courses for the Emerging Scholars Program?No, they are not. This is because these courses do fulfill the math requirement for some degrees.
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How is a student given an Emerging Scholars Grant?The Emerging Scholars Grant will be awarded by the Aims Financial Aid Office once a completed and accepted Application for Emerging Scholars Program is received from the Retention Coordinator. The award amount will be calculated at $40 per credit hour of college prep coursework per semester as indicated on the application.
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How much can a student receive from the Emerging Scholars Grant?The Emerging Scholars Grant will be awarded at $40 per credit hour for required and registered college prep courses only.
Example: Based upon student’s ACCUPLACER it is determined the student needs the following college prep courses:
REA 060 REA 090
ENG 060 ENG 090
MAT 060 MAT 090
If this student registers for REA 060, ENG 060 and MAT 060 for the fall 2007 semester, his/her Emerging Scholars Grant will be awarded based upon 9 credits of college prep courses. $40 per credit hour X 9 = $360
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When will the Emerging Scholars Grant be paid (disbursed)?A student who has been awarded the Emerging Scholars Grant for the fall semester will have the funds paid as follows:
First half of the fall award disbursed within 2 weeks after the end of the add/drop period for 15 week courses (September 19, 2007)
Second half of the fall award disbursed within 2 weeks after receiving notification from the Retention Coordinator that a midterm progress report has been received
The second half of the fall disbursement of the Emerging Scholars Grant will be prorated per credit hour, if necessary, to reflect the number of college prep credits for which the student’s midterm progress report indicates satisfactory progress (“C” or better grade).
Example: Using the same student from the example above, the first disbursement of the student’s fall Emerging Scholars Grant would be ($40 X 9/2) $180. If the midterm progress report indicates the student is maintaining a “B” grade for both REA 060 and ENG 060 but a “D” for MAT 060; the student’s second disbursement of the fall Emerging Scholars Grant would be ($40 X 6/2) $120.
This disbursement process will be used for all Emerging Scholars Grant funds for the fall 2007 and spring 2008 semesters.
To accommodate a disbursement that is based on the actual number of credits, the student’s Emerging Scholars Grant award will be updated to match the actual amount disbursed.
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What criteria must a student meet to have continued eligibility for the Emerging Scholars Grant?A student who is awarded an Emerging Scholars Grant in the fall 2007 semester will qualify for additional grant funding for the spring semester as long as:
- The student completed each attempted fall 2007 college prep course with a grade of a “C” or better (This determination will be made by looking at each college prep skill sequence individually).
- The student has additional college prep course requirements and registers for those classes in the spring 2008 semester
The disbursement process will be the same two-part process as was in place for the fall 2007 semester.
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Can a student retain eligibility for the Emerging Scholars Grant if one or more college prep courses are not successfully completed with a "C" or better grade?It depends. If at any point in time it is reported, either through the midterm progress report or a final grade, that the student did not maintain a “C” grade, the student is no longer eligible for Emerging Scholars Grant funding for that course.
Once the student progresses onto the next college prep level within that skill sequence, the credit hours for the next level will be included in determining the student’s eligibility for the Emerging Scholars Grant based upon available funding.
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If at the mid-term grade check point a student is not maintaining a "C" or better grade and therefore those credits do not qualify for the Emerging Scholars Grant, but at the end of the semester the student is able to bring his/her grade up to a "C" or better grade, would the student then be paid the second disbursement of the Emerging Scholars Grant? No. The mid-term grade check is the point in time which the eligibility for the second disbursement of the Emerging Scholars Grant is determined. The final course grade is used to determine the student’s Emerging Scholars Grant eligibility in that skill sequence for the next semester, if additional college prep courses are required.
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If a student becomes ineligible for the Emerging Scholars Grant, what is the student's status in the Emerging Scholars Program?Receiving the Emerging Scholars Grant is an added incentive to students who are in need of college prep courses. A student is permitted and encouraged to remain in the Emerging Scholars Program even if he/she is not eligible for the grant.
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Will participating students be able to co-enroll in other courses?It depends. The student and academic advisor will make the determination based on the best interest of the student.
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Why was this program created and who was involved?Data from four fall semesters (2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006) confirms students who enroll and persist in required basic education courses are retained from fall to spring semesters at an average rate of 67%.
Data from four fall semesters (2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006) confirms students who test into basic education courses but do not take the courses they tested into are retained at an average rate of 26%.
The data also show that students who are enrolled in needed developmental courses often take themselves out of those courses through the drop/add and web registration process and enroll in courses that they are not prepared to take. When they fail these courses they usually drop out of college and do not return. Our goal is to provide students with the support and skill development needed for successful college transition and persistence.
The need for this program was discussed in the Enrollment Management Committee made up of faculty, staff and administration. The program was fine-tuned through many discussions with the Student Services Staff, Academic Deans, Developmental Education Faculty and Senior Management. It has also been presented to the Board of Trustees for their support and consideration.
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Why the name change from STAR to Emerging Scholars?As Aims Community College has evolved in ways to better serve our students, the STAR program has also evolved into many different activities associated with the College’s Retention Efforts. These include: current STAR student advising, Academic Probation follow up and advising, AIR advising, Stop-Out advising, IFocus workshop series, and now the Emerging Scholars Program.
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Can students participate in both the Emerging Scholars and TRIO programs?No, students cannot participate in both programs. These programs are very similar in the services provided to students. In addition, our resources are limited for both programs and our goal is to provide academic support to the most students possible.
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