Provost's report
Improving Diversity
From precollege programs to graduation and career activities, the Center for Academic Support and Diversity (CASD), offers an array of services to students of color and qualified first-generation, low-income and/or disabled students: PreCollege Programs, Multicultural Retention Programs, Student Support Services and the Multicultural Education Center. Tutorial specialists collaborate with faculty, staff and other departments and/or units on campus to help students with their academic endeavors. The goal is to increase retention and graduation and to create a campus environment conducive to student learning.
Precollege Programs
In 2006-2007, the center enrolled 153 economically disadvantaged middle and high school students to participate in a variety of programs, offering coursework in English, mathematics, introduction to computers, study skills, health and wellness, speech communication, art, dance and career explorations. In addition, five programs were offered that related to specific disciplines: PreCollege Enrichment Program (PEP), Summer Mathematics and Reading Talent Scholars (SMARTS), Young Entrepreneurial Scholars (YES), Aspiring Pupils for Professional Leadership in Education (APPLE) and Wisconsin Youth in Nursing (WYN). PEP, YES, APPLE and WYN were funded by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction for $149,090. SMARTS was funded by the UW System Office of Academic Development and Diversity.
During spring 2007, the CASD invited the summer 2006 precollege students from YES, APPLE and WYN for a three-day visit to the UW Oshkosh campus. Thirteen middle and high school students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds participated in a variety of workshops and classroom shadowing activities. During summer 2007, nine students participated in the YES Internship Program (six-week program) with placements in various Milwaukee area businesses (Coleman & Williams, LTD.; City of Milwaukee Comptrollers Office; Northwestern Mutual Life Company and Price Waterhouse Coopers, LLP; Milwaukee Public Schools; Legacy Bank; Johnson Controls, Inc; and Froedtert Hospital). The YES sponsors provided each student a $1,000 stipend at the end of the internship.
Multicultural Retention Programs
Through a 2006-2007 diversity grant, first-year students participated in the Surf into UW Oshkosh Program, designed to pair upper-level students (student liaisons) with first-year students to help make the transition to UW Oshkosh successful. The Coffee House Gathering, designed to connect faculty with multicultural students and to establish relationships, was offered twice during the academic year. Six Multicultural Achievement Awardswere presented at the annual Honors and Awards ceremony. One Asian student (Arianne Baldonero) received a science and biology scholarship from the biology and microbiology department. The Hmong Student Union received an award from the Oshkosh Student Association for superior community outreach activities not only to the Hmong community but also to various organizations, including the Red Cross and the Oshkosh Boys & Girls Club. Two multicultural students received the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence (Jantira Thomas and Angela Rodriguez) and two multicultural students participated in Targeted Opportunity Program jobs (TOPjobs), which is a paid internship program for multicultural and disadvantaged students. Both students had summer placements at the Winnebago Mental Health Institute in Oshkosh.
In 2006-2007, the writing skills specialist provided writing assistance to multicultural and disadvantaged students to help them clearly understand grammatical rules to create and produce well-written papers. This learning experience gives students the confidence in their written work, thus promoting academic success. The program helped students with their writing/English courses, including assistance with term papers, theses, book reports, speech writing and presentations, as well as resumes and graduate school applications. Students gained a deeper understanding of the English language so that coursework was less stressful and easier to comprehend/approach.
The Math Tutorial Program offered assistance during 2006-2007 to students in courses ranging from basic algebra to calculus III, including statistics (business math, psychological and sociological) and research methods. Of the students who used the services, 82.7 percent successfully completed their coursework.
Multicultural Education Center
In collaboration with the Dean of Student’s Odyssey Program, the CASD held the annual Open House at the MEC during the early check-in of first-year students. The event offered information to parents and students about the University, including cultural food sampling and entertainment. Information presented included a Financial Aid Workshop and an introduction to the programs and services offered. The state also has agreed to fund in 2008 a modern-day makeover of the MEC, one of the UW Oshkosh’s historic buildings. This will include masonry restoration, carpentry repairs and painting to the east and south sides of the building. Construction is expected to start in May 2008 and be completed that September.
Student Support Services
In 2006-2007, the Student Support Services (SSS) program, a federally funded TRiO program, served approximately 300 first-generation, low-income and disabled students. The U.S. Department of Education awarded the SSS program $367,108, of which $33,000 grant-aid (retention tool) was distributed to 46 first-year and sophomore students.