Summer bridge program (Challenge Program at Georgia Tech)¶

Element · All elements
Evidence · 3 claims (1 for, 2 mixed) · 1 study (1 review), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 3 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The Challenge Program is a 5-week summer bridge program at a selective technical university in the southeastern United States, originally offered in 1981 as a developmental education program for minority students and operating since the early 1990s as a general education program for all incoming students. "Students in the program participate in short, non-credit-bearing courses in calculus, chemistry, computer science, and English composition, which are designed to resemble college-level for-credit courses." Upperclass students serve as peer educators and coaches, participants pay a nominal fee refunded based on GPA, and family members are integrated through information sessions and an awards luncheon.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Students pay a nominal fee, fully or partially refunded based on their GPAs during the summer bridge program coursework

Constraints¶

• Evaluated at a single selective technical university; the study reviewed covers implementation there between 1990 and 2000

Target Learners¶

• Incoming first-time fall matriculants at a selective technical university, historically including ethnic/racial minority, low-income, and first-generation students

Target Learning Goals¶

• College-level academic skills in calculus, chemistry, computer science, and English composition; adjustment to college culture

Claims¶

• The evidence base for summer bridge programs on postsecondary outcomes is small: only one of 31 eligible studies met WWC group design standards [~W]
• No studies meeting WWC standards report summer bridge outcomes in college access and enrollment, credit accumulation, general academic achievement, or labor market domains [~W]
• Summer bridge programs have potentially positive effects on college degree attainment, with graduation rates of 70% for participants versus 67% for non-participants [+W]

Related Elements¶

• Chicago Public Schools Summer Bridge program

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Summer Bridge Programs. (2016). What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report, Supporting Postsecondary Success. U.S. Department of Education, What Works Clearinghouse. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/InterventionReport/661