MODEL Scholars program succeeds in bringing bright students to ECSU
For the third consecutive summer, Elizabeth City State University is offering the MODEL Scholars program to prime high school graduates for their freshman year of college.
In some cases, the students’ grade point averages or SAT/ACT scores don’t reflect their ability to perform at the college level. Students in the intense, five-week program get the boost they need for success. MODEL stands for Motivation, Opportunities, Determination, Excellence and Leadership.
This summer, 74 high school seniors from across the state are participating on the ECSU campus. It is one of three such programs funded by the University of North Carolina General Administrative Office that is being offered. Each program has a unique name and ECSU’s program is highly successful based on retention rates among participants of the MODEL Scholars program from the last two years.
In the program’s first year in 2009, 80.7 percent of the students are still enrolled in college and have at least a 2.0 grade point average. Similarly, from the 2010 MODEL Scholars program, 81.3 percent of the students remain enrolled with at least a 2.0 grade point average.
- The primary purpose of the program is three-fold:
- To engender an academic environment whereby students earn six university credits towards their degree.
- To facilitate students’ acclimation and adjustment to university life.
- To promote peer-to-peer bonding so that continued matriculation is the norm rather than the exception.
