This summer, San Antonio College (SAC) again offers its six-week Senior Summer Program to assist graduating high school seniors and recent GED completers with the transition into college. Utilizing curriculum geared to the First Time In College student, participants may enroll in and complete up to seven college credit hours.

The program starts with a mandatory orientation class on Saturday, June 4.
Regular classes will run Mondays through Fridays, June 6 through July 15.
The program is available to students from San Antonio-area high schools, though will be primarily promoted to schools within the San Antonio Education Partnership, whose purpose is to increase academic performance levels, school completion rates, and college attendance by at-risk high school students. Priority high schools include: Burbank, Edison, Fox Tech, Harlandale, Highlands, Jefferson, Kennedy, Lanier, Lee, McCollum, Memorial, Sam Houston, South San Antonio, Southside and Southwest.

While most students enroll in developmental coursework (English and math) that will prepare them for the college-level courses, the college-credit academic foundation courses offered include: English 1301 (Freshman Composition I), History 1301, Math 1314 (College Algebra) and Sociology 1301.

³We are sensitive to the needs of this population,² said Ruben Flores, Dean of Evening, Weekend and Distance Education. ³Hence, the program has its own schedule, utilizes special curriculum, financial assistance, and emphasizes cohort enrollment that enables students to enroll in courses with their high school classmates and not be mixed with regular college students.²

Flores added that courses will be taught by faculty who have participated since the program¹s beginning in 1999, and are familiar with the needs of these students. Before classes begin, each instructor will be given individualized information about their students, such as the high schools attended, previous grades and conduct reports.

Students participating in the SAC Senior Summer Program must also enroll in a Student Development and Orientation (one-hour credit) course, which teaches about strategies for success in college, such as course expectations, study skills and time management training. The class will be held on Saturdays, June 4 and 11, for eight hours each day.

To help offset tuition costs, which can average $360 before books, the ACCD offers alternative funding on a first-come, first-served basis, provided students complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
2003-2004 forms by May 6, 2005. (Note: FAFSA 2003-2004 requires the income tax forms from 2003, not from 2004.) At the time they complete the FAFSA form, students are encouraged to also begin the college admissions process for the upcoming Fall semester.

Illustrating the program¹s success, over its six-year run, an average of 140 students participate each year, with an average completion rate of 94 percent, which leads to an average college enrollment rate of 74 percent.
Additionally, approximately $144,308 in financial aid was granted to the 195 students enrolled in the 2004 summer program, while $271,258 in financial aid was granted to the 138 students who transitioned into college for the
2004 Fall Semester.

³Another wonderful aspect to the initiative is its agreement with undocumented students,² Flores said. ³Students who fall within the admissions qualifications of Texas House Bill 1403, section 2 and/or section
4 can receive funding for the program and attend college as undocumented students.²

San Antonio College averages 10% of its participating Senior Summer Students as undocumented and satisfies the guidelines established by the above house bill.

For more information, call SAC Senior Summer Program coordinator Manuel Gonzalez III at (210) 733-2478, or mangonza@accd.edu.