Annual Report 2022-2023 Early Outreach and Support Programs

I. Mission Statement

The mission of the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) is to provide access and support services to first-generation college students who have experienced economic, educational, and/or environmental barriers, but display the potential to succeed in post secondary education and to assist the university in the matriculation, retention, and graduation of EOP students.

II. Program Objectives for 2022-2023

1. EOP will actively connect with all continuing students who are on academic notice and will encourage students to take advantage of resources available to aid in improving their academic performance. Met/Ongoing
2. Re-establish the EOP Student Association. Ongoing
3. Increase support to EOP students that have spent the majority of their college career learning remotely. Ongoing
4. Will encourage staff to participate in at least one professional development opportunity during the year. Ongoing
5. Create opportunities to encourage EOP students to engage with the EOP office and staff in-person. Met/Ongoing

III. PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• As part of the EOSP Team, successfully presented in our Student Affairs divisional Professional Development Committee (PDC) unit showcase—First Friday
• Coordinated EOP office Open House in the fall semester to welcome students to campus and share resources in an effort to increase student engagement
• Hosted several community building events for first year students which included; a movie night, Cocoa and popcorn during midterms and study break sessions during finals
• An advisor serves on the Advisors Wellness Implementation Team (Stupski Foundation), which coordinates efforts geared towards providing opportunities for Chico State advisors to nurture community and well-being in order to avoid burnout
• Participated in University Advancements’ Spring Training and educated the Advancement Team on how to support EOP and our students
• EOP has started to actively outreach to local area high schools, connecting with over 150 students. Partnered with Educational Talent Search (who serves 24 local service area schools) to do EOP outreach to five (over 90 high school seniors) service area high schools 
• FYE course link classes were redeveloped to better align with Supplemental Instruction and now include POLS 155 along with UNIV 101
• Partnering with the first-year networking community to develop a training class for all Chico State peer mentors. The tentative name for the campus wide training Is the Wildcat Peer Mentor Network
• Advisor participation in the Transforming Data Into-Action: Fall 2022- “Student Success Analytics” team that is sponsored by the Chancellor’s office
• Aligning with Financial Aid’s timeline to award first year students, the bulk of our EOP students were admitted prior to Choose Chico
• Committee members in the Advancing Equity Initiative Action Teams: 3A HELP Team, and 3C Early Alert & Cohort Tracking CS360; and the Recruiting Coordination Committee

IV. Diversity Efforts: 

• Partnered with community members as well as the Black Student Union on campus to organize the Black History kickoff, “Victory In Unity” on campus. Nearly 300 community members, faculty, staff and students were present
• Staff assists in coordination and support of many of our Multicultural Welcomes and Graduation Celebrations
• Participated in the Dreamers Ally Training & supported the Undocuweek Social trainings
• Participated in the inaugural Black Maternal Health panel
• Partnered with Basic Needs, Associated Students and the Financial Wellness Center to facilitatefinancial wellness workshops entitled “Making Money Moves”
• Intentional recruitment of 20 diverse Faculty and Staff to be Summer Bridge Mentors
• Prioritized participation in the monthly cultural appreciation months –some staff also partneredwith other units to help with planning

V. Program Statistics and Assessment for Past Year

• EOP admitted over 1700 Freshmen 82 who were Exceptional Admits and 249 Transfer students
• Received a total of 349 intent to enrolls (266 FTIC and 83 transfer students)

Ongoing Assessment Efforts:

*Note: During the Spring 2015 semester, our lab check in system data got corrupted in the Cbord database. We had to replace the check in system and lost all of the data associated with that semester. **During the fall  2017 semester, the lab check in machine broke. The check in system had to be replaced and all of the data associated with the fall semester was lost. ***With the purchase of additional loan out laptops Fall 2019, we are  seeing a decrease in students coming into the lab providing bandwidth for other students to spend more time in the lab.****COVID-19 pandemic shut down campus on March 17, 2020—services transitioned to virtual modality.*****Transitioned from virtual to hybrid to in-person. Student engagement has been low this past year. 

VI. Key Objectives for Next Academic Year

• Continue outreach with a focus on diversifying the EOP applicant pool. Will continue to partner with Admissions and precollege programs to also focus on service area high schools
• Professional develop and further training for advisors to be adequately prepared on serving and engaging the incoming generation of students. In addition to being intentional about connecting with the students who were affected by the pandemic when they started here at Chico State 
• Professional develop and further training for advisors to be adequately prepared on serving and engaging the incoming generation of students. In addition to being intentional about connectingwith the students who were affected by the pandemic when they started here at Chico State

I. Mission Statement

The Chico State Dream Center serves as a student success and resource center for the hundreds of undocumented students currently enrolled, as well as, other students from mixed-status immigrant families. We advocate for, and facilitate, equitable access to educational opportunities; and support student success and well-being in a welcoming, safe, and supportive environment.

II. Accomplishments

• Coordinated and executed three Dream Ally Trainings for faculty, staff, and administrators and one Peer Ally Training for students
• Collaborated with L.E.AD. to host Undocu-Week, a weeklong of events aimed to uplift the voice of the undocumented community and raise awareness
• Participated in recruitment events such as Steps to College, La Feria de Educacion, and Choose Chico. Participated in Giving Day and raised $3,405.
• Collaborated with the Butte College UndocuCenter in community events such as Education without Borders and Transfer Student Socials with prospective students
• Dream Center professional and student staff attended professional development opportunities: Sacramento State’s 7th Annual Keeping the Dream Alive Conference and UndocuProfessionals Conference
• The Dream Center sought and secured the Student Learning Fee Grant of $20,000
• In partnership with the Career Center and Study Abroad & Exchange office, we successfully hosted workshops tailored to the professional and academic needs of undocumented students
• Attended CSU and California Community College system wide trainings pertaining to AB 540, residency, and special immigrant juvenile status
• Participated in Immigrant’s Rising Promising Practice Roundtables and connected with Dream Center staff across California to discuss best practices on: AB540, entrepreneurship, beyond DACA
• Continued partnership with immigration legal services provider, The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) and hosted three in-person clinics for Chico State students, staff, faculty, alumni, and immediate family members

III. Diversity Efforts

• Participated in Spanish virtual Choose Chico\
• Attended experiential workshop pertaining to former foster youth
• Translated and printed outreach flyers in Spanish
• Collaborated with College Corps staff to support undocumented students in the program

IV. Program Statistics and Assessment for Past Year

*Services from August 2022 – May 2023

*Peer Ally Training was not offered in the Fall 2022 semester

V. Program Objectives for 2022-2023

• The Dream Center aims to increase the utilization of legal services by providing a minimum of threelegal services webinars and one DACA clinic every semester. Met - In collaboration with CHIRLA, the Dream Center offered three virtual webinars and six in-person presentations. Although we offered a DACA clinic in the fall, our two spring clinics were highly utilized with all appointment slots filled.
•  The Dream Center will focus on continuing professional development for faculty and staff by providing at minimum on Dreamer Ally training in the academic year. Met – A total of three trainings were offered, one in the fall and two in the spring semester. Additionally, we offered a Peer Ally training that is designated for students and student assistants. CHIRLA presented at Ally trainings and provided an overview of their services.
• The Dream Center will continue progress towards intentional programming on post-graduation and entrepreneurship opportunities by hosting a minimum of two workshops each semester. Met/Ongoing - In collaboration with the Career Center, we offered a two-part workshops series on resume and career building in the fall semester. We also partnered with CHIRLA and the Study Abroad Office to host an Advance Parole and National Student Exchange Webinar in the fall semester. In addition, the Dream Center co-hosted UndocuWeek with L.E.A.D. to provide four workshops in March.

VI. Key Objectives for Next Academic Year

• Continue to advocate for a designated space solely for the Dream Center and preliminary planning discussions for anticipated new location designated for Fall 2024
• Resume the Dream Ally Trainings once a semester, in conjunction with the CSU system-wide training in July
• Continue the Peer Ally Trainings for Chico State students and student employees once a semester
• The Dream Center will continue progress towards intentional programming on post graduation and community building opportunities by hosting a minimum of two workshops each semester.

I. Mission Statement

The Foster Youth Committee is dedicated to current/former foster and/or unaccompanied
homeless youth’s diverse higher educational needs. Acting as a liaison with campus and
community resources, we strive to enhance access to the California State University,
Chico community through collaborative efforts with PATH Scholars and community
partners. Our goal is to support the development of successful, proficient, and self-aware
individuals in their pursuit of graduation and beyond.

 II. Accomplishments 

• Submitted successful proposals and received funding from a variety of sources to continue supporting students with needs, such as textbooks, emergencies, graduation related costs, etc.

  ○ Whittier Foundation - $50,000

  ○ Student Learning Fee - $10,000

  ○ Board of Governor’s Award - $4,500

  ○ John Burton Advocates for Youth - $5,000

  ○ Women’s Philanthropic Council - $5,000
• $12 million was secured for all 23 CSU campus Foster Youth Programs; Chico State received a portion of those funds as general base funding to help students with student employment salaries, programming and expanding professional program staff. Most notably, this allowed us to create and implement a new PATH Scholars grant which is included in students financial aid award, to be utilized for housing, living costs and anything education related.
• Resumed our yearly “Lunch with President Hutchinson” after being on hold due to Covid. Students were able to spend time in conversation with the President and shared their challenges as college students, but more importantly, their successes.
• Resumed our yearly “Lunch with President Hutchinson” after being on hold due to Covid. Students were able to spend time in conversation with the President and shared their challenges as college students, but more importantly, their successes.
• PATH Scholars saw a significant increase in Distance Learners. For a variety of reasons, many campus programs are not available to these students. However, PATH Scholars services included virtual meetings, activities and mailing “Welcome Packages” to students in their hometown.
• Thanks to the Board of Governor’s Award, PATH Scholars was able to offer “Lunch at the PATH Scholars Center” two times per month each semester. This not only addresses food insecurity, but it also offers students the opportunity to come to the Center, socialize with their peers in a healthy environment and meet with program staff.
• Upgraded the PATH Scholars Center sign-in process (Advisor Go) to match sister programs, such as EOP. This will allow us to collect data on unduplicated students utilizing the Center and for which purpose, such as using the computer lab, study space and/or meet with program staff.
• Increased student employee team to four student staff (one MSW intern, two Peer Coaches and one Receptionist for the PATH Scholars Center). Student staff created the PATH Scholars Year in Review for the 22/23 academic year.

1. III. Diversity Efforts 

• Presented to several foster youth (from foster care agencies and schools throughout the state) in collaboration with Campus Special Tours.
• Continued regular events with campus partners (Butte College and Shasta College) to strengthen transfer pipeline.
• Continued regular events with campus partners (Butte College and Shasta College) to strengthen transfer pipeline.

IV. Program Statistics and Assessment for Past Year 

V. Program Objectives for 2022-2023

1. Resume one student gathering per academic year with President Gayle Hutchinson as achieved in previous years. Met – We accomplished this in April 2023 and were incredibly honored to be hosted by the Office of the President for lunch and conversation. Nine students participated, including one parenting student who brought her child with her.
2. Collaborate with Dream Center by providing at least one collective event to ensure smooth transition for our students in our new Dream Center/PATH Scholars Center layout.Met – The two programs partnered in a more collaborative manner than in the past. Student staff teams from both programs worked together and coordinated several activities over the year, such as Movie and Pizza nights and food during finals week.
3. Develop relationship with new Vice President of Student Affairs and Associate Vice President for Student Engagement and Retention Programs by sponsoring at least one intentional meet and greet event.Met – PATH Scholars staff had the pleasure of meeting with leadership during an EOSP staff meeting. There was time to highlight PATH Scholars and share more in-depth about our program and goals.

Vi. Key Objectives for Next Academic Year

• Revisit PATH Scholars Center space allocation that was put on pause for one year.
• Coordinate with AVP and EOSP Director to create a detailed budget for furnishing the new PATH Scholars Center location, once the space is allocated and planned move in date is determined.
• Onboard new Student Services Professional III to support PATH Scholars program and students.

I. Mission Statement

Educational Talent Search (ETS) is committed to academically prepare and motivate low-income, first-generation college students for success in postsecondary education. The Educational Talent Search program is aligned with Chico State’s Mission, Values and Vision statements and the first strategic priority to “recruit, enroll, support, and graduate a diverse and high-quality student population.

History at California State University, Chico

Educational Talent Search I (Funded in 1990 to serve 825 scholars) - the target population is comprised of scholars in grades 6th-12th who attend 15 target schools (Anna McKenney Intermediate, Bidwell Junior, Central Middle, Gray Avenue Middle, Las Plumas High, Live Oak High, Live Oak Middle, Los Molinos High, Marsh Junior High, Marysville High, Oroville High, Paradise High, Pleasant Valley High, Willows High and Yuba City High) in five counties (Butte, Glenn, Sutter, Tehama and Yuba). Educational Talent Search II (Funded in 2006 to serve 500 scholars) - the target population is comprised of scholars in grades 6th-12th who attend 9 target schools (Chico Junior, Chico High, CK Price Intermediate, Gridley High, Hamilton Elementary, Hamilton Union High, Orland High, Sycamore Middle and Williams Junior/Senior High) in three counties (Butte, Colusa, and Glenn).

II. Accomplishments

• Successfully recruited and served 1,227 low-income, first generation college scholars in grades 6th-12th at 24 target schools – scholars are motivated and prepared to attend college starting in 6th grade!
• 106 ETS seniors applied to Chico State for Fall 2023; 48 submitted their intent to enroll.
• Monthly Workshops – ETS advisors visited their assigned schools each month to present grade appropriate workshops and advising sessions on topics such as college requirements, career/major awareness, financial literacy, resumes, interview tips and writing personal statements. In addition, Advisors guide seniors step-by-step through the college, financial aid, and educational support programs (EOP, SSS, EOPS and REACH) processes and applications. An ETS newsletter, social media, emails, phone calls and text messages were utilized to keep scholars informed of ETS services/events.
• College Visits – 42 scholars in 11th grade visited Sacramento State and UC Davis in November. Summer college visits are planned for Sonoma State, San Jose State and UC Santa Cruz. Scholars learn about the campuses through admissions presentations and campus tours. Scholars have the opportunity to explore some of the beautiful San Francisco cultural sites.
• STEM Academy (88 scholars) – in collaboration with the Chico State’s student organization, Latinos in Technical Careers, 7th- 10th grade scholars experienced hands on, interactive workshops to motivate them to attend college and pursue a STEM career. Students built rockets, learned about anatomy & physiology from the Pre-Medical Association, put together solar cars/airplanes with the Alternative Energy Club, and learned about building the future from Design Build Institute of America. Prior to the conference, students submitted essays that asked them to discuss the following prompt, “if you could design and build a vehicle made out of any materials to help the world be a better place, what would it be?” The three strongest essays were awarded wireless speakers and Lego building sets.
• ETS Scholar’s Day hosted at Chico State (event scheduled in August) – one-day event designed to motivate scholars to attend college and be better prepared for their next academic school year.
• Jumpstart to College (event scheduled in August) – one-day event hosted to combat summer melt for first-time college freshman attending school this fall. To promote academic success, ETS staff and ETS alumni will share resources on college campuses, tips on navigating in-person and virtual learning, and what they wish they had known before going to college.
• Cash for College – in collaboration with our target high schools, CSU Chico, Butte College and Yuba College Financial Aid, we co-hosted ten Cash for College events where over 400 students and parents received information on financial aid. Most students submitted their FAFSA applications at the event.
• Chico State Preview Day and Choose Chico (25 ETS scholars and parents) – welcomed prospective Chico State Wildcat students to campus, guided them and answered their questions about the event and college. We also provided them with a $25 lunch voucher.
• Support of Chico State ETS Alumni – scholars are welcomed every semester to the ETS office to use computers, printers, receive school supplies, and to grab a snack. ETS staff serve as positive role models and check in with ETS alumni to see how they are doing academically and emotionally. This fosters a sense of belonging to remind students they are valued and provide support to encourage them to graduate from Chico State. ETS alumni graduating from Chico State are recognized and celebrated for achieving their personal and academic goals!
• Friend of ETS Awards – the recipients for the 2022-2023 year are: Natalie Herrejon (Williams Junior/Senior High), Yolanda Lederer (Willows High), Rosemarie Keene (Gridley High), Bill McCuthen (Las Plumas High and Oroville High), Malanee Montero (Live Oak Middle), Cindy Perez (Live Oak High), Jennie Powell (Live Oak High) and Angie Wisdom (Chico High) for their never ending dedication and support of the program. We are extremely appreciative of the recipients, because our program would not be as successful without them!

III. Diversity Efforts

• Assure hiring practices and current staff reflect diverse student population in program and on campus – this last year our professional staff was comprised of Asian, Caucasian, Latinx and Middle Eastern staff.
• Intentionality to recruit ETS scholars who are of underrepresented populations – males, American Indian, and African American.
• Peter Yang, ETS Advisor, presented at the Cross-Cultural Leadership Center Hmong Legacy events, sharing about cultural customs.

IV. Program Statistics and Assessments for Past Year

A successful Annual Performance Report was submitted to the Department of Education where all program objectives were met! The following Annual Objectives data corresponds to the 2021-2022 academic year. Due to the U.S. Department of Education reporting requirements, Educational Talent Search grantees complete annual reports in December, therefore 2022-2023 data is not yet available. All other information included in this report corresponds to the 2022-2023 academic year.

 Program Objectives:

1. Secondary School Persistence: 93% of non-senior participants served each project year, will complete the current academic year and continue in school for the next academic year, at the next grade level. Exceeded – 100% of non-senior participants completed the current academic year and continued in school the next academic year, at the next grade level.
2. Secondary School Graduation: 84% of seniors served during the project year will graduate during the project year, with a regular secondary school diploma. Exceeded – 100% of seniors graduated with a regular secondary school diploma.
3. Secondary School Graduation, Academic Rigorous: 46% of seniors served during the project year, will complete a rigorous secondary school program of study and will graduate during the project year with a regular secondary school diploma. Exceeded – 65% of seniors that graduated completed a rigorous secondary school program of study.
4. Postsecondary Education Enrollment: 77% of participants who have graduated with a regular secondary school diploma during the project year, will enroll in an institution of higher education by the fall term immediately following high school graduation. Exceeded – 82% of participants who have graduated with a regular secondary school diploma, enrolled in an institution of higher education the fall term immediately following high school graduation.

Class of 2022 Postsecondary Enrollment – ETS strives to ensure that students get the information and assistance needed to select the postsecondary institution that best suits their needs and wants. Prior to COVID, approximately 70-90 ETS students enrolled at Chico State each fall. The following summary provides an overview of which colleges the 2022 ETS senior class chose to attend:

1. Postsecondary Attainment: 36% of participants served during the project year who enrolled in an institution of higher education by the fall term immediately following high school graduation, will complete a program of postsecondary education within six years. Exceeded – 55% of participants served in the 2015-16 postsecondary enrollment cohort earned a credential.

Ongoing Assessment Efforts - Annual Objectives for 2022-2023: we constantly evaluate our program to best serve our students’ needs. Ongoing assessment efforts include an annual performance report submitted to the U.S. Department of Education, scholars’ evaluations after every event attended,  and an overall program evaluation before scholars graduate. After closely assessing the program, staff meet in June to plan for the following year.

Demographic Reporting - for the 2022-2023 academic year, 1,227 scholars were served by two ETS grants. Below is a demographic snapshot of the ethnicity of our student population, reflective of the schools being served.  

Below is a summary of the ETS college enrollment rates for the past ten years: 

V. Key Objectives for Next Academic Year

• Recruit and serve 1,325 scholars!
• Continue to serve the needs of our scholars and schools while providing much needed support for low-income, first-generation college scholars.
• Continue to provide professional development for all staff.

I. Mission Statement

The TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) program at CSU, Chico is committed to increasing the rates of academic achievement, retention, and graduation among historically underrepresented students. This is accomplished by providing holistic and individualized support services that maximize students’ innate abilities and draw upon available resources within and outside of the University to benefit students, families, and the larger community.

II. Accomplishments

• The TRIO team has successfully taken on the new STEM Peer Mentoring program. This is Chico State’s first non-federal award grant that comes from an HSI Innovation Hub at California State University, Northridge.
• The TRIO Director was the 2023 Tipping Point Summit chair and with a large help from the TRIO team the event was a success for over 211 attendees.
• In January 2023 we successfully transitioned our Student Development Coordinator. Against every attempt that Chico State Enterprises (CSE) tried, we were able to get our Student Development Coordinator hired. CSE listed the position incorrectly when posted, resulting in the annual salary being higher than originally budgeted for when the position was created. When asked about the discrepancy they pushed back and shared that our department would be responsible for the annual cost of the position as the salary offered to the employee could not be lower than what was posted. This was a major issue for our program as the annual cost would continue as long as the person was in the position. Luckily the candidate and the director corrected the mistake and bailed CSE out of their mistake. CSE was unwilling to hold itself accountable for the mistake.
• TRIO SSS purchased and implemented a new financial wellness platform, VicTreeFi. This was a missing part of our program as we had removed a Dave Ramsey product that did not match the values of our program. After seeing different programs, we decided to land with VicTreeFi as it would allow us to track student engagement hours and it would allow us to give students asynchronous work. After one semester of use, the program has been successful for staff and students. The program will grow into the next academic year. 
• To grow our Life After College series, the program applied for a Board of Governor’s Award and successfully received $5,000 to support the series. The funds will go towards incentivizing attendance to TRIO workshops, events, and campus-wide programs that benefit students in their last year before graduating. Examples of events could be Career Fairs, Career Center workshops, Graduate Studies workshops, and other community events.
• In partnership with Academic Advising Programs, TRIO successfully wrote and received a Student Learning Fee award. This award will go toward supporting new transfer students that join our TRIO program by giving them more advising support. Our TRIO program has typically been a first-year student-focused program, and at times has neglected our transfer students. The grant will allow us to hire students to support the advising of the transfer students.
• Increased our partnership with AAP in our recruitment of interns to support our program.
• Continued to increase our support of online students. Online/Remote students have not typically been served by our program, but virtual learning has allowed us to rethink how we can serve online students. We have begun recruiting these students and working with these students. The students have responded well as they are often looking for a sense of community as remote students.
• Participated in the Advancing Equity Project 4 Team: Mentoring Network to ensure that TRIO could learn from the other support programs. The network includes First Year Experience program, Educational Opportunity Program, Black Leadership Mentoring Program, and Reach.

III. Diversity Efforts

• Diversified the representation of our staff men/women to be a better representation of the student population that we serve. In our key student staff, we also built a staff that is representative of the students we serve.
• Both the director and the student development coordinator have successfully completed the Avoiding Bias in Hiring, Undocumented Ally Training, and other campus training.
• We began and quickly grew our services for online virtual students to help them create a community at Chico State.
• Supported and volunteered during Latinx Graduation and Early Outreach and Support Programs Graduation
• Moved a large portion of our financial wellness programming to an online platform in order to make the work asynchronous. The program allows us to track student engagement hours and minutes on the program, and we use this to allow students to work on the topics during their own time. We did see an increased engagement and a higher quality of discussion as part of the outcome of this change to the program.
• For the first time since virtual learning, we offered our remote students an online Student Transfer Enrichment Program.
• Annually we offer a parent/guest welcomes in Spanish and English.
• Our student staff that was available participated in the Dreamer Ally training in the spring 2023 semester. This allows us to better serve students from different citizenship statuses and mixedstatus families.

IV. Program Statisitics and Assessment for Past Year

• 69% We achieved a sixty-nine percent persistence rate amongst our TRIO students ● 94% of our students were in good academic standing during the academic year.
• 74% student graduation rate achieved during the academic year.
• 182 total students served
• 1648 total meetings with students in an academic year. For a program that serves 182 students, we remain a high-contact program with excellent results. This meeting count (taken from a Microsoft Bookings report) means that we met with each student an average of nine times.
• 32 students successfully graduated in the 2022-23 academic year.
• 462 of our 1648 meetings were directly related to financial wellness support for our TRIO students.
• 365 of our 1648 meetings were directly related to career readiness support for our TRIO students.
• We wrote over 60 letters of recommendation to support our student’s Wildcat Scholarship applications.

V. Key Objectives for Next Academic Year

• Our program will increase our financial wellness support to our first- and second-year students. As we continue to grow our use of online financial wellness platforms and restructure the TRIO course, we will redesign the first- and second-year financial wellness services that we give students.
• Transition our mentor hiring and fall course to be aligned with the Advancing Equity Project’s Mentoring Network. The Mentoring Network includes FYE, EOP, REACH, and BLMP and has a spring mentoring course planned for Spring 2024. This course will take our mentoring students and get them trained on common mentoring practices with students from the other program. Our current hiring practices don’t align with the spring mentoring course but we hope to move into alignment once we know that the spring course has been fully developed for the spring semester.
• Serve and report on forty students in the STEM Peer Mentoring program. The STEM Peer Mentoring grant will come to completion at the end of November 2023. The grant was written to have forty students served by the coordinator and fourteen mentors. The goal is to meet these promises and be able to successfully continue the project if more funding becomes available.

I. Mission Statement

II. Accomplishments

Expanded Tutor Training – Chico State students are hired to tutor Upward Bound participants virtually throughout the school year. This year has marked our return to weekly in-person trainings to enhance our tutors’ expertise. Training topics included: 

• Learning Styles - Provides tutors with the tools to assess and identify students’ learning styles and provide them best practices for learning.
• Coffee Chat Table - Allows tutors to share their tutoring style and knowledge. Tutors articulate areas of strength, growth, and strategies that have helped their tutoring sessions be successful.
• Fishbowl Activity - Tutors identify online resources to assist students in their learning and growth.
• Directive and Non-Directive Approach - Assist tutors in identifying their tutoring approach to meet students’ academic needs.

Class of 2023 – The Upward Bound graduating class of 2023 includes 87 students. 97% of these students will enroll in college in the fall. Of those, 31% will attend Chico State. Additionally, two of our graduates have been accepted to the University of Southern California. Olivia Quintana (Chico High School) and Jonathan Rangel (Pleasant Valley High School) will both enroll at USC in the fall. We couldn’t be prouder of our graduating class of 2023.

Gates Scholar – Casandra Perez-Mohedano (Hamilton High School, Class of 2023) has been awarded the prestigious Gates Scholarship! This unique scholarship will cover the cost of Casandra’s college education throughout her entire career. Casandra will attend UC Davis in the fall and plans to eventually attend medical school.

Parent Workshops - This year marked the return of fully in-person workshops offered in English, Spanish and Hmong to parents of high school 12^th grade participants. UB staff offered financial literacy and FAFSA completion assistance to 70 Upward Bound seniors and their parents on October 3 and 6, 2022. Fifty seniors and their parents also attended bilingual college application workshops on October 25 and 26, 2022, where UB and CSUC Admissions staff assisted students in submitting their college applications. 

High School Support - Upward Bound staff supported 16 target high schools in the service area by sharing their college and financial aid application expertise. Bilingual UB staff attended FAFSA and college application workshops and provided individual assistance to all seniors and their parents in submitting applications. 

III. Diversity Efforts

Serving Undocumented Students - Through a statewide pilot program, 2023 marked the first year that a select number of TRIO programs in California were able to start offering services to undocumented students. Two of the CSUC UB grants were allowed in the pilot program (Original Upward Bound and Upward Bound II). Program staff led an informational campaign at all target high schools in the area informing faculty, staff, parents and students that undocumented students could now seek Upward Bound services. We hope to increase the number of undocumented students we serve in 2024, and to provide program staff training on how best to support the needs of undocumented students.

Bilingual Staff - Parent education is a critical Upward Bound program component. It is imperative that program staff can provide detailed college application and financial literacy information to parents in their native language. We are proud to have hired bilingual staff in the past year that will allow us to expand communication with parents. Currently, there are five professional staff members who speak Spanish and three professional staff who speak Hmong. All workshops and orientations are always offered in Hmong, Spanish and English to allow parents the ability to communicate and ask questions in their preferred language. 

Increase Male Student Participation - Project staff continue to expand recruitment presentations to targeted groups in an effort to increase the number of male students that apply for Upward Bound services. For the past five years, the average gender breakdown has been approximately 70% female and only 30% male. This past year, the number of male  students served by the program inched up to 34%. Reaching out to coaches, counselors and faculty and encouraging males to apply has resulted in an increase in applications from male students. Those efforts will continue into the next recruitment cycle.

IV. Program Statistics and Assessment for Past Year 

 The following six performance objectives are dictated by the U. S. Department of Education.

1. Academic Performance Grade Point Average (GPA): Participants served during the project year will have a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or better at the end of the school year.
2. Academic Performance Test: Graduating seniors served during the project year, will have achieved at the proficient level on state assessments in reading/language arts and math.
3. High School Graduation: Participants served during the project year will continue in school for the next academic year, at the next grade level, or will have graduated from secondary school with a regular secondary school diploma. 
4. Rigorous Curriculum (A-G Completion): Participants will complete a rigorous secondary school program of study and graduate that year with a regular secondary school diploma.
5. College Enrollment: Participants will enroll in college by the fall term immediately after high school graduation.
6. College Completion: Participants who enrolled in college, by the fall term immediately following high school graduation will attain either an associate or bachelor’s degree within six years following graduation from high school.

* The Original UB and UB STEM programs did not meet performance goals for the number of graduating students who achieved at the proficient level in math and reading/language arts upon high school graduation. During and after the pandemic, the number of high school students choosing not to take the standardized state test (CAASP) increased dramatically. In order to improve these percentages, Upward Bound will offer a proctored CAASP test to incoming high school juniors during the 2023 summer program. Staff will also provide useful test preparation strategies and explain how performing well on the exam benefits students.

V. Key Objectives for Next Academic Year

Expand Undocumented Student Recruitment - For decades, project staff have had to inform school personnel, parents, and students that we weren’t able to provide services to undocumented students, given our federal funding source. We’re ecstatic to now have the authority to serve this population, but undoing decades of saying “no” is proving difficult.  Project staff will be increasing efforts to inform partners of this change in policy. With the use of social media campaigns, targeted recruitment directed at students and informing agencies that serve undocumented students, the project aims to drastically increase the number of undocumented students in the program. 

Increase UBAA Participation - The Upward Bound Alumni Association (UBAA) serves as a recognized student organization at Chico State. Since its inception in 1994, this student organization has provided Upward Bound students enrolled at Chico State an opportunity to maintain a sense of community first established while in Upward Bound as high school students. UBAA members participate in civic engagement opportunities, fundraise for scholarships they award to incoming UB students and serve on student panels informing current Upward Bound students of their college experience. Since the pandemic, the number of UBAA members has dwindled. Project staff will work to better inform project graduates enrolling at Chico State of UBAA benefits and events with the goal of increasing its membership in 2023-2024.

Seek External Funding - Although UB received approval to serve undocumented students, the project isn’t able to provide these students with the monetary stipends provided to current participants due to federal regulations.  Project staff aim to connect with the CSUC Office of Advancement to assist in fundraising campaigns that would garner funding for stipends that could be awarded to undocumented students in our project. 

Enhance Partnership with CSUC Office of Admissions - Upward Bound partnered with the Office of Admissions to increase outreach and education to local service area high schools. This exciting collaboration began with the Marysville Joint Unified School District and consisted of UB staff visiting Marysville and Lindhurst high schools to share information about our services, but also to inform students about how they can prepare for college. Topics included A-G course completion, financial aid and college application assistance and scholarship information. Project staff will continue to collaborate with the Office of Admissions as well as other campus partners to expand the program in 2023-2024 to other high school in our service area.