Ramapo College of New Jersey Educational Opportunity Fund
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Ramapo College of New Jersey Educational Opportunity Fund Program Building EOF Scholars
Mission • The mission of the Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) at Ramapo College of New Jersey is to provide access to higher education and support for highly motivated students who exhibit the potential for success, but who come from families/communities disadvantaged by low income and a lack of access to quality educational preparation necessary to attend college. The EOF program provides such students full-time admission to the college, and the support needed to maintain their continued enrollment through graduation. This support includes grants and scholarships minimizing the financial burden of college attendance; and services designed to foster academic success and scholarship, promote social responsibility, and involve students in connecting their education to the world of work and graduate study.
Ramapo’s Vision For EOF From Recruitment to Graduation The Ramapo College of New Jersey Educational Opportunity Fund Program empowers students to realize that they have a purpose at Ramapo. Their purpose, as exceptional EOF students, is to excel, grow, and challenge their current way of thinking. Through the EOF Program, students learn how to study effectively, manage their academic and personal schedule, and build the skills to become campus leaders. Students learn the history of EOF and the importance of stepping into their role as Scholar Advocate. Finally, each student will begin the career development process, have a working resume, and gain an understanding of how to start creating a personal brand. The EOF Staff take a comprehensive approach to advising students. Staff support students growth, help them realize their potential, keep them on track within their majors and minors, educate students about financial aid, and provide workshops that build students into scholars.
The EOF Program Philosophy • The philosophy of the EOF Program is based upon the firm conviction that academically under-prepared students can succeed at the college level with the assistance of varied support services. • This includes basic skill development, specialized instructional support programs, and intensive counseling in the areas of academic, personal, financial and career needs.
Helping Students Persist To Graduation • • Special project funding was used for student and professional development. • To date, we have identified a specific initiative led by Dr. Tyrone Bledsoe. Two staff and two students were sent to Dr. Tyrone Bledsoe’s Student African American Brotherhood (SAAB) conference. SAAB is specifically aimed at mentoring men of color to graduate from college. • EOF staff are currently implementing some of the best practices that were obtained from the conference. MAST will meet every month for the academic year. To address our male retention issue, we have created a new group, Men Achieving Success Together (MAST). Staff have been working to help our male students persist through empowerment talks, activities, community service and student development.
Helping Students Persist To Graduation • • Special project funding was used to help new EOF Student Development Specialist to attend National Student Affairs Professionals in Higher Education (NASPA) conferences. NASPA seeks to educate student affairs professionals in the latest best practices in higher education. EOF staff will be offering workshops to EOF students on topics that were obtained from the conference. Staff will present workshops to students on the importance of self-awareness in their career pursuits and best practices for choosing a career. This information will also be used in our EOF Pathways Linking Academic & Career Experiences PLACE class.
Assessment Measurements • We will utilize our Institutional Advancement office’s data to ascertain if our efforts are increasing the number of students who continue into their third semester. In addition, we are hoping to see an increase in our graduation rate. After implementing the new career workshops and Men Achieving Success Together (MAST) programming this academic year, we are hoping to see increased student participation and increased retention. It is our hope that our fall 2018 data will reflect some type of retention and/or graduation rate increase.
Intended Impact • Over the next five years, our intended impact is to see at least 70% of our incoming freshmen and transfer students graduate from Ramapo College of New Jersey. In addition, we want 100% of our staff to be well versed in up to date advising and mentoring to ensure college success.
