A review of the University of Wisconsin-Stout pre-college program

Abstract

High school graduation rates vary from state to state, but research indicates that students who are classified as minority and disadvantaged students are among the largest group of students that do not graduate high school and do not enter a postsecondary institution (Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, 2000). Pre-college programs have been created to assist in eliminating this phenomenon. The purpose of this study is to review the literature on federal programs, other successful national programs, and the University of Wisconsin-Stout pre-college program in order to provide high school and college educators with information to develop a pre-college program. This information could also be used to evaluate the success of other, individual pre-college programs. Results of this research indicate that pre-college programs are successful in retaining students through high school graduation and into a secondary institution (Chance, 2000; Fashola & Slavin, 1998; Higher Education Evaluation, 1995; United States Department of Education, 1999). Pre-college programs have also been shown to be of financial assistance in attending the programs as well as being financially helpful in attending college (Dumas-Hines et al., 2001). The problem then lies in retaining minority and disadvantaged students through college graduation (Oesterreich, n.d.). The research for this review was gathered from many resources through online searches and library resources.