Programs
The Office of Pre-College Programs at St. Cloud State University hosts five precollege programs and assists in the coordination of the activities and programs that constitute the “Pipeline” concept at SCSU.
Pipeline Programs
The “Pipeline” concept at St. Cloud State University. The Pipeline Programs are comprehensive and long-term strategies implemented through a set of academic programs and services offered by various offices and departments of the university. They operate in partnership with business, community, educational, and non-profit organizations and families, and are designed to provide opportunities for academic enrichment and career awareness to students of color, female and low-income students. These programs also serve to enhance recruitment of students of color to higher education.
Center for Access & Opportunity
The St. Cloud Access and Opportunity Center is a partnership of St. Cloud State University (SCSU), and the St. Cloud School District (District 742), supported by the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, for the purpose of improving academic achievement and high school graduation rates, increasing rigorous college preparatory course-taking behavior, and increasing post-secondary participation among underrepresented students in grades 8-12 in District 742. It offers academic-year.
Intervention for College Attendance Program (ICAP)
St. Cloud State University is a recipient of funding from the Minnesota Office of Higher Education's Intervention for College Attendance Program (ICAP). SCSU's ICAP project, Promoting Academic Success Among Underrepresented Students, targets African-American students in the St. Cloud Area School District 742 in grades 6th through 12th with risk factors for poor academic achievement. Sixty students are to be served with school-year tutoring and mentoring services, and a summer program.
During the academic year this office offers supplemental educational services to students in the 742 School District and other districts in the Twin Cities, including field trips, Saturday classes, mentoring and tutoring services.
" Underrepresented" in higher edcuation can mean:
Students from low-income families
Students from immigrant background
First-generation college families
Students of racial and ethnic minorities
Students with low academic scores on standardized tests
as well as other students facing obstacles to higher education
These are the basic goals of the programs:
Improve academic achievement
Improve high school graduation rates
Increase rigorous college preparatory course taking behavior
Increase college attendance
Students from St. Cloud State University (SCSU) and St. Cloud Technical and Community College (SCTCC) are employed to assist with these programs and may work in a variety of capacities, such as tutors, mentors, teaching assistants, program counselors, office assistants, research assistants, computer consultants, or recreation staff. Students play a vital role in the operations of the programs and can contribute skills, talents and experiences, as well as serve as role models for younger students in Pre-College settings.
Summer Enrichment Programs
There are three precollege summer enrichment programs, the Math-Science-Computer Camps, the Scientific Discovery Program, and the Advanced Program in Technology and Science. Each pre-college program is designed to address the severe problem of the underrepresentation of students of color in scientific and technical areas. For each program, the target population consists of students from groups historically underrepresented in scientific, technical and business occupations. While the programs serve the same population, each is geared to a different age group. Further, while the focus is on underrepresented groups students from all backgrounds participate in these programs.
