18 College Access Programs

“Do not be afraid to ask for help. Nobody gets through college on their own”.
–Michelle Obama

There is no exact recipe that fits everyone to be college successful and everyone has different barriers that makes attending to college difficult. While the majority of student services are open to all students at colleges and universities, sometimes individualized services. Thankfully there are programs in colleges and universities that can help you with resources and knowledge on how to be successful in college. If you attended high school in the past decade in Oregon, you might have heard or participated in the AVID program. Similar to AVID, Chemeketa has some federally funded and Chemeketa funded college access programs that you may qualify to be part of.

TRIO

TRIO is a federally funded program that can help students in a variety of ways so that students can be successful in their college career. TRIO as well as other college access programs, have a limited number of students they can serve, but they provide so many benefits to students that is worth applying to the program. For example, TRIO can provide

• An individualized academic advisor, or success coach that will help you develop a college success plan according to your major and career goal.
• Assistance filling out FAFSA and other scholarships.
• Assistance filling out college applications to 4-year universities.
• Visits to 4-year colleges.
• Tuition-free classes to prepare you to navigate college such as: Preparing for College (CG100), Creating College Success (FYE105), Planning College Finances (SLD101), Four-Year College Transition (CG225).
• TRIO also has a lending library to borrow books & calculators for an entire term.
• Personalized tutoring in math, sciences, writing and other subjects.
• Access to a computer lab with free printing, among others.

Because TRIO is a federally funded college access program there are a couple of requirements to meet eligibility. Students must meet one of the following requirements: be a first generation colleges student (neither parents has a bachelors degree), meet federal low requirements (also known as pell eligible in FAFSA), or be a students with documented disabilities. In addition, students need to be US citizens or a Permanent Residents, and be enrolled in at least 9 credits or 6 if the student has a disability.

To apply students needs to complete an online application.

College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP)

The CAMP program is similar to TRIO, but it has a smaller cohort of 55 students admitted each year and the eligibility criteria to qualify for this federally funded college access program is different. CAMP supports students from migrant and seasonal farm worker backgrounds during their first year in school. CAMP offers wrap-around services for the students in the program, for example:

• Personalized tutoring and mentoring
• Academic advising
• Student success courses
• Career counseling
• University campus visits if interested in transferring
• Quarterly stipends
• Transportation assistance
• Book and netbook assistance
• Cultural events
• Community service and leadership opportunities and much more.

There is a list of eligibility requirements on their website as well as an application for the program and priority deadlines for submission for the application. Some of the eligibility guidelines are: student needs to be eligible to participate in the Migrant Education Program (MEP), or the National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP), or student or parent must have worked as a seasonal farmworker at least 75 days in the past two years (CAMP staff can check which type of work fits under farmwork). Have a high school diploma or GED, be in the first year of undergraduate school, be enrolled in 12 credits (be full time), and must be a U.S. citizen or Permanent Resident. You can check their website for complete eligibility requirements.

Chemeketa Completion Program  (CCP)

The Chemeketa Completion Program (CCP) is another support system at Chemeketa for students who are not eligible for TRiO or CAMP. Mirrored after these two programs, CCP offers assistance navigating Chemeketa and the college system in general. They offer:

• Academic advising
• Assistance with class registration
• Personalized tutoring
• Assistance with transfer process
• Coaching
• Help navigating financial aid; Oregon Student Aid Application (ORSAA)
• Campus visits, between others.

Student who are interested in becoming a CCP student, need to be admitted into the program and attending a minimum of 9 credits per term and be on the path to completing a degree or certificate within 3 years of being accepted into the program.

Students interested in applying, can apply here. Note that is the same application that TRIO uses.

Support to Expectant and Parenting Students  (STEPS)

Students who are pregnant or parenting students can also receive additional support for themselves and their families. Students admitted into the STEPS program have some benefits such as:

• Access to a Student Parent Resource Center
• Support from a student parent support group
• Access to a STEPS success coach to help you navigate Chemeketa and help you with referrals to assistance programs inside Chemeketa and with local community partners.
• Free workshops

You can check their website by going here. The website also contains the application.

Licenses and Attributions

Original chapter work is attributed to Grecia Garcia and edited by Ashley Duran.