The College of the Marshall Islands (CMI), in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), has developed the First Year Residential Program (FYRE) aimed at prospective college students who are severely underprepared for college.  A one-year program, FYRE is an all-embracing and vibrant residential learning community that is at once a demanding and a nurturing sanctuary in which students are free from distractions in their everyday lives. Along with rigorous training of students to become disciplined learners, FYRE engages students in a college-prep community in which mathematics and English (the second language for most students) are at the center of the community—and faculty who live on campus support students through tutoring and mentoring along with teaching classes. FYRE is preparing self-directed learners with the capabilities and discipline to flourish in college.

 

California State University, Sacramento is home to the Full Circle Project (FCP). FCP is a comprehensive approach that involves collaboration among programs, departments,  and unites across Academic Affairs and Student Affairs to implement a strategically focused, campus effort to improve retention and graduation rates of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students.  FCP provides AAPI students with strong advising support, intentionally-planned leadership options, and co-curricular encouragements to engage in campus and community-based service activities. 
 

North Seattle Community College is reworking the entry into college for diverse students, many of whom are learning how to be college students while they raise families and work. Two programs stand out. Partnering with multiple organizations, North is ensuring that students can start and stay in college by helping them navigate their way to financial stability. The NSCC Financial Assets Building Program coordinates workshops and one-on-one consultations in the Opportunity Center for Employment and Education—a one-stop facility where people can access social and educational services that they need to work toward self-sufficiency. Using a similar approach, North partnered with the State Workforce Development Council and employers to recruit a cohort of entry-level incumbent healthcare workers into an academic program that packages all the prerequisite courses and nursing courses for the full Associate's Degree in Nursing. At the heart of this program is a cohort of motivated students, a College Success Navigator, and an instructional team. The students who were recommended by their employers work closely with their Navigator who guides them through the program—from registering to learning study habits to managing work and family schedules. The instructional team is developing a holistic curriculum that ensures the cohort is ready to enter and succeed in a rigorous nursing program.

 

Norfolk State University is the home to the Summer Bridge Program that helps academically challenged students to make the transition from high school to college.  Held during a four week summer session, this nonresidential program addresses the academic, developmental, and social integration needs of students through courses in such fields as English and mathematics as well as through co-curricular programming and intrusive developmental advising. 
 
Morehouse College is the home of the Peer Led Team Learning (PLTL) initiative.  An innovative alternative to conventional peer learning, faculty in PLTL use a facilitated learning approach in which individual faculty members develop and provide learning content “modules” for PLTL workshops that are tied to relevant course content. 
 
Paul Quinn College (PQC) has developed an innovative and highly successful campus-wide program entitled “Leave No Quinnite Behind” that helps to ensure that every PQC student is nurtured, developed, retained, and proceeds to graduation. Comprehensive in scope and layered to address both the on-campus and off-campus lives of students, the program includes many noteworthy features: a summer academic bridge program; an institution-wide writing program requirement, and an overhauled core curriculum. 
 
El Paso Community College has implemented the Pretesting Retesting Educational Program (PREP), which provides placement test preparation services and assists students in refreshing their skills in mathematics, reading, and writing.
 
San Diego City College has introduced is the First Year Experience Learning Communities, a program in which participants enroll in prescribed courses (English, Mathematics, and Personal Growth) based on their assessment scores, receive counseling and individualized plans, and engage in rapport-building with other participants as well as faculty that cultivate a sense of connectedness within their respective learning community.



La Sierra University has developed the First-Year Experience (FYE) that has been highly successful in helping students become integrated into LSU, develop expectations for college, enhance their problem-solving skills, and complete both pre-foundational and foundational courses.



Salish Kootenai College offers an innovative developmental studies program that coordinates student support systems, including retention coordinators and a career counseling program along with academic success workshops and classes and tutoring. The college is also developing a regional center for science education that incorporates a Native worldview and successfully guides STEM students into STEM careers.

 
Chief Dull Knife College has introduced a computer-assisted approach to remedial mathematics education through which students progress at their own pace rather than attend traditional lecture-based courses.
 
College of Menominee Nation has developed the STEM Scholars Program, an innovative program that is cohort-based—which includes extracurricular activities as well as course-related initiatives—and anchored in faculty mentoring of students.