FSU Partners with College Summit

Fairmont State University is partnering with College Summit, a major national initiative, to send significantly more West Virginia students to post-secondary education and training programs after high school.

FSU will host a four-day College Summit summer workshop Thursday through Sunday, July 12-15, with 30-40 rising seniors from West Virginia high schools invited to participate. College Summit plans to host eight workshops on West Virginia college and university campuses this summer.

"We're proud to partner with Fairmont State University on this initiative to help more West Virginia students enroll in college," said Randy Shillingburg, Executive Director for College Summit-West Virginia. "FSU is committed to ensuring that more college-capable West Virginia youth actually enroll in college."

According to Shillingburg, College Summit helps to strengthen public schools' guidance systems as part of a comprehensive college access solution.

"At FSU, which includes Pierpont Community & Technical College, we recognize the value of this program and its impact on the youth who attend," said Stephanie Miller, Admissions and Recruiting Special Events Coordinator for FSU. "Through this partnership, we will be able to affect the future of these students and we look forward to playing a role in preparing them to enter college. We are hopeful that each student who attends this College Summit workshop will consider becoming part of our Fairmont State family."

College Summit's comprehensive system includes intensive summer workshops for up to 20 percent of a participating high school's senior class, a post-secondary planning course to lead remaining students through the high school-to-life transition process during their senior year, an online tracking and data management system to help students and school personnel manage the transition process for all seniors and on-going support from a seven-person College Summit-West Virginia staff.

"At the FSU workshop, students will complete the majority of paperwork necessary for college enrollment, receive quality one-on-one college counseling and complete a personal statement they can use for scholarships or as an entrance essay for college," Shillingburg said. "College Summit inundates these workshop students with resources, such as writing coaches, mentors and trained counselors, in order to instill in them the belief that they indeed are 'college material,' while providing them with the information and knowledge to enroll in college."

Shillingburg said that 79 percent of students across the nation who attend College Summit summer workshops have enrolled in college, nearly doubling the enrollment rate for these students.

"The entire college transition process can be overwhelming for students, especially for first generation college students," he said. "In fact, research has shown that students from the lowest-income families who make A's on standardized tests in high school enroll in college at almost the same rate as students from the most affluent families who make D's on standardized tests. Clearly, there is a gap between high school and college for low-income students, not only in West Virginia, but across America. College Summit is working to bridge this gap between high school and college for all students."

Earlier this year, College Summit was one of only 25 non-profits selected to receive the 2006 Social Capitalist Award from Fast Company, a leading business magazine. In receiving this award, College Summit was named by the magazine as "one of the top 25 groups that are changing the world."