Wright State University Enrollment Services | Photo by Soham Parikh | The Wright State Guardian
A new program called Jump-Start is benefiting many, including recent high school graduates who were given the opportunity to get a head start on their education with one free course.
Jump-Start
Wright State University created a program called Jump-Start to help recent high school grads get an early start on their education and save money.
“We started a program called Jump-Start and it is an opportunity for incoming freshmen to take one general education course through a scholarship towards a free tuition opportunity,” said Jen McCamis, director of admissions.
Students accepted into the program work with an advisor to make sure they take a course that will benefit them the most.
“They could only enroll in Gen Eds where there was space available still, and they worked with their academic advisors to find the right courses for their degree program,” said McCamis.
To qualify for the program, students have to be 2020 highschool graduates. They also have to be admitted to the fall 2020 semester and registered for or completed orientation and/or submit a statement of intent, according to Wright State University’s website.
Benefits
This opportunity is allowing many students to understand the role of a college student and the steps that they need to implement to be successful before they start with several courses in the fall.
“They get an early glance at what it really means to be a Wright State student,” said McCamis.
A huge benefit of this program is a lighter course load later in their degree because of the early start with completing classes they need.
“It also allows you flexibility to take a smaller course load in the future if you need additional time to focus on a more demanding class,” according to Wright State University’s website.
This program is allowing students to see early on how summer courses can help them graduate earlier and increase their chances of graduating.
“The longer it takes, the less likely a student is to make it to graduation,” according to an article in The New York Times.
Bringing in new students
Not only are students benefiting financially, but the program is bringing some students to Wright State as well.
“Some of these students had already told us they had planned to come to Wright State and then some of them as part of their requirement was that they had to say yes I am all in and complete the statement of intent,” said McCamis.
Along with attracting new students to Wright State, it also entices new students to take summer courses.
“None of these students were registered in any way for summer,” said McCamis. “So definitely it had a positive impact for more students being registered for summer classes.”
Jump-Start is benefiting many, by allowing recent high school graduates to become familiarized with taking a college course this summer without the worry of tuition costs.
