It’s Never Too Early for T.O.U.R.S.

1. It’s Never Too Early for T.O.U.R.S. Translating Opportunity to Uplift Rising Stars Bryan Spencer & Rodrigo Gutierrez Recruitment & Early Outreach Officers San Diego State University

2. Current Issues in K-12 Purpose of T.O.U.R.S. Building an Early Outreach Program EOP Volunteer Program Questions and Discussion Topics of Discussion

3. According to the Campaign for High School Equity and its High School Policy Reform: A Plan for Success (2008)… 10% of California’s high schools are drop-out factories educating 17.2% of the students California graduation rate for 2006-07 was 67.7% 50% of CA 8th graders read at the “below basic” level Drop-out rate for California is 22.5%, based on new tracking system implemented On-Time Completion Rates of HS African-American 55.3% Latino/a 57.8% Native American 50.6% In CA, SE Asians 50%+ did not graduate Only 35% of California graduates left high school having completed all the courses required for entrance to the UC and CSU systems 10% of 8th grade graduate do not enroll in 9th grade Current Issues

4. Inspire students to believe in the reality of attending an institution of higher learning Illustrate the SDSU college student experience through facts and personal experience Encourage students to do further research into SDSU and other universities and take responsibility for their UC/CSU Preparation Provide positive role-models for middle school students Solution & Purpose of T.O.U.R.S.

5. Building an Early Outreach Program

6. Establish Goals, Resources, and Demand Assess Schools in your Area Assess Collaboration Partners and Allies Design Services to Offer Develop Procedures and Protocol Evaluations & Testimonials Elements of T.O.U.R.S.

7. Establish Goals, Resources, and Demand SDSU did not offer a dedicated program for tours or presentations Staffing – EOP created SSP-1B to design, implement, and assess an Early Outreach Program Become visible to middle schools, its counselors, teachers, and other administrators Resources Available Promotional Items Educational Materials targeted for grades 6-8 Student Volunteerism Building an Early Outreach Program

8. Assess the Schools in your Area Feeder Analysis Top Feeder HS to EOP Top Feeder HS to SDSU Highest Rates of Free/Reduced Lunches Proximity to SDSU Campus Suspension Rates Building an Early Outreach Program

9. Assess Collaboration Partners and Allies On Campus Gear-UP Pre-College Institute Compact 4 Success Ambassadors & Prospective Student Center SDSU Student Organizations College Access Program @ SDSU Building an Early Outreach Program

10. Off-Campus California Student Opportunity and Access Program (Cal-SOAP) Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) Community Organizations and Churches Local Middle Schools Building an Early Outreach Program

11. Define Services to Offer Tours Provide a 60-min walking tour highlighting fun areas on campus and the college student experience Presentations & Student Panels Provide a presentation that is energetic with simple language to motivate, inspire, and educate middle school students. Attention Getter Reasons to Attend College San Diego State Facts & Highlights A-G Requirements Eliminate the Fear of College Costs & Financial Aid EOP Provide diverse and prepared student panels to offer a mentor perspective Material Requests Provide Resource Packets for teachers and administrators to aid in their mission to establish a “college-going culture” in their classroom Attend College Fairs & Parent Nights Participate in Cal-SOAP’s College: Making It Happen Building an Early Outreach Program

12. Tours Structure – High Quality Service Campus Sites Visited Information Disbursed Tour Guide Behavior & Dress Code Develop goodwill with teacher Correspondence Request Protocol Confirmation/Denial Procedures Tour Evaluations (Collection Database & Teacher Eval) Goals and Limitations Tour Size Student Volunteerism & Knowledge of University Number of Tours Offered Designated Times for Tours Building an Early Outreach Program

13. Presentations & Student Panels Structure How to Communicate to 6th-8th grade students (style, lingo, etc…) What Relative Topics to Cover Templates in Existence (CMIH, Admissions, Fin. Aid, etc) Survey Teachers and Administrators for expertise Correspondence Request Protocol Confirmation/Denial Procedures Evaluations (in progress) Goals and Limitations Classroom or Projector Availability Student Volunteerism Access to Middle School Sites Building an Early Outreach Program

14. Material Request Structure Gather Materials Relative to Grade Level Promotional Items Cal-SOAP CMIH Booklets and Handouts Admissions – FTF, Fin. Aid, Scholarship Handouts CSU Office – College Posters EOP – Brochures, Folders, Promotional Items Correspondence Request Protocol Confirmation/Denial Procedures Goals and Limitations Limited to What Will Fit in a Large Yellow Envelope Teachers Will Request Everything & Anything! Financial Restrictions (materials & promo items) Building an Early Outreach Program

15. Develop Procedures and Protocol Tours & Presentation Requests in 2006 Letterhead Policy Data Collection  MS Excel Confirmations via Email Tours & Presentation Requests in 2008 EOP Event Request Forms Simple Electronic Format (Speeds up process) Easy to Collect Data Data Collection  MS Access Tour Evaluations Easy to Complete High Completion Rate Collect Valid Data with Proper Scales of Measure Building an Early Outreach Program

16. T.O.U.R.S. Statistics At a Glance

21. Tour Evaluations

22. “The SDSU fieldtrip is probably one of the best field-trips our 6th graders take. The tour guides definitely build a relationship with the students which completely makes the field-trip successful. “ -6th Grade Teacher “I have had parents tell me they have never heard their children as excited about college as they are now” -7th & 8th Grade Teacher We constantly talk about college at school, but the students don’t really understand the true concept of college until they visit a campus -6th Grade Teacher Many students who once believed college was not an attainable goal, have now changed their minds. -6th Grade Teacher I loved the presentation with the "planting of the seed" and the growth into the Giant Sequoia. It was a wonderful metaphor for the students. -8th Grade AVID Teacher Testimonials

23. Based on… The demand and motivation to avoid denying any requests & Desire to aid in the retention of EOP students and provide opportunities for community service… We devised the… High Demand & Quality Services

24. EOP Volunteer Program!!

25. Began in Fall 2006 Current Structure began Fall 2007 Key component our Early Outreach efforts and T.O.U.R.S. Volunteers made up of EOP and Non-EOP students EOP Volunteer Program

26. History Fall of 2006 Tours were conducted by Staff and whichever students happened to be around This would create problems obtaining student assistance with Tours & Events Tour groups were limited in size Many requests had to be denied because of these issues Summer of 2007 Outreach & Recruitment added another Staff member for Early Outreach efforts Current EOP Volunteer Program developed Tour Group sizes increased Less requests were denied as a result Spring 2008 Outreach & Recruitment Coordinator hired to allow Early Outreach staff to focus on Tours and Events and developing and expanding the EOP Volunteer Program EOP Volunteer Program

27. To provide EOP and non-EOP students with an opportunity for community service, to educate prospective students, and to stay engaged with EOP and its staff and services. To be flexible with our Outreach efforts in events and programs Allows Outreach & Recruitment Staff to focus on other duties (visits, application period, etc.) Hosting more and MORE students with campus visits Outside of time conflicts, not denying any requests for a campus visit. Assist with EOP department events Get students INVOLVED!! Goals of the EOP Volunteer Program

28. Opportunities for Involvement Middle School Campus Tours Student Panels Freshman For a Day (fall semester) Middle School Visits (College Access Program) EOP Graduation (spring semester) EOP Student Advisory Board Explore SDSU 2009 Community Events EOP Volunteer Program

29. Implementation of a Volunteer Program How do we create a program out of nothing? Where do we get our students? How do we communicate with them? Isn’t there something like this already on campus? Step 1. Knowing your goals and objectives Expand tours and event size and number. And keep US in the office. Step 2. Knowing your potential volunteer pool. Year One: EOP Students and select Student Organizations Year Two: EOP Students, Students Organizations and the general campus population Step 3. Love Technology. Flyers to Email to Campus-wide Newsletters EOP Volunteer Program

30. Implementation of a Volunteer Program (part II) Step 3. CONSTANT Communication Weekly Announcement and Emails, electronic course communication (Blackboard) Step 4. Know Your Resources Do MORE with less EOP Volunteer Program

31. Challenges and Limitations of a Volunteer Program a smart man once said, ‘the answer to all your questions is money.’ Challenge 1. Budget $0 in our department’s General Fund for the Volunteer Program Challenge 2. Incentives See Challenge 1. What will it make it worthwhile for students to take time out of their busy day and take their ONE free hour to give a tour to some kids? Challenge 3. Student Availability Tours mostly fall between 10am and 2pm Monday through Friday. So do student volunteers classes. EOP Volunteer Program

32. Challenges and Limitations of a Volunteer Program (cont.) Challenge 4. Volunteer Pool Size The more the merrier Challenge 5. Campus Visibility Look outside of EOP for students and look outside email to reach potential Volunteers Challenge 6. Show Rate Yeah they say they can volunteer, but do they show up? Challenge 7. Training “I would give a tour, but I don’t know how to give one.” EOP Volunteer Program

33. Blackboard Academic Suite aka ‘Blackboard’ Easy and Efficient way to communicate with students Program is added as another enrolled course Free for US!! Paid for by the University Stores all your program information and resources for you and your volunteers EOP Volunteer Program

37. Testimonial What did you enjoy the most about being an EOP Volunteer? “I enjoyed leading the tours around campus the most. I felt good about being able to give prospective students a positive experience which could result in them joining the SDSU campus.” EOP Volunteer Program

38. Statistics of volunteer participation 200+ Volunteers since Fall 2007 Real cost of Volunteers based on $9/hr wage: 2007/2008 - $2965 So far 2008/2009 - $1580 Fall 2008 had 44 unique volunteers. 89 current members EOP Volunteer Program

39. Build a pipeline program that co-exists with our High School and Community College Recruitment & Outreach Measure effectiveness of T.O.U.R.S. by evaluating Admissions: Applicants and Enrollees Create a “Freshman For a Day” program for selected middle schools Provide a tutoring/mentoring program that involves EOP students and middle school students Future Possibilities

40. Thank YouAny Questions?