CSSE/Academic Support
Individual Enrichment Program and Summer Session
The Individual Enrichment Program (I.E. Program) is a federally funded TRiO Program that incorporates a four-week residential summer component for selected students who will be entering Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in the fall. The Summer Session offers three-credit courses in Learning Strategies, Writing for College and College Writing I, Mathematics for College (during the summer), and The Creative Arts: Methods and History (during the fall semester). Students are introduced to the campus and the surrounding area through a series of cultural and recreational activities. This is a specialized, intensive session specifically designed to help students make the transition from high school to college and to increase their likelihood of persisting and graduating from MCLA. During the regular academic year, the Individual Enrichment Program continues to provide academic support in the form of tutoring (Tutor Exchange Network), assistance with writing (Writing and Research Center), and advising services. A newsletter (The Mosaic) recognizes students' achievements and helps keep students apprised of academic schedules and related deadlines, as well as information about financial aid (including available grants and scholarships).
You could be a great candidate for the Individual Enrichment Program's Summer Session.
Summer Session Application Process
Candidates who do not meet the traditional admission standards for freshmen admission, yet display academic potential, may be invited to apply to the Summer Session, a component of the Individual Enrichment Program. This summer program serves as a pre-enrollment program for educationally disadvantaged students. Successful completion of the residential summer program ensures enrollment at MCLA for the fall term. A federally funded grant and the College supports this program, hence there is no cost to the eligible student. The following credentials must be submitted in order to be considered for admission to the Summer Session:
- MCLA Admission Application and $35 fee
- Official High School Transcript, including first-quarter grades
- SAT 1 or ACT scores
- Summer Session Application (PDF file)
- Writing sample - Graded paper from a senior English class
- Interview (by phone or in person)
Candidates must have achieved a minimum grade point average of a 2.0 (recalculated by Admissions Office, college preparatory courses only).
In order to be eligible for free tuition to the Summer Session, candidates must meet one of the following criteria:
- Qualify as low-income according to federal guidelines
- Be a first-generation college student
- Have a documented physical or learning disability
Admission to the Summer Session is very competitive, and students are encouraged to apply early to be considered. The residential component of the program is required, but there is no cost to students. For more information, contact Academic Support at 413-662-5389 or the Admissions Office (800-969-6252).
The TRiO Program at MCLA
Federal TRiO Programs are educational opportunity outreach programs designed to motivate and support students from disadvantaged backgrounds. TRiO includes six outreach and support programs targeted to serve and assist low-income, first-generation college students, and students with disabilities to progress through the academic pipeline. The term TRiO derives from the three original federal programs, Upward Bound, Talent Search, and Student Support Services. Since then, five more TRiO programs have been established: Ronald McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement, Educational Opportunity Centers, Upward Bound Math Science, Training Program for Federal TRiO Programs, and Dissemination Partnership Program.
Recognizing the increasingly important role of educational opportunity in raising the socioeconomic level of students with talent and promise, Congress proclaimed the first National TRiO Day in 1986, the 20th anniversary of the Higher Education Act, which authorized the original TRiO Programs. Two Massachusetts Congressmen, the late Silvio O. Conte and Senator John Kerry, were among the co-sponsors of the National TRiO Day legislation.
MCLA's TRiO Program, Student Support Services, established in 1980, is known as the Individual Enrichment Program, which has provided basic skills instruction, counseling, tutoring, cultural enrichment, and career and financial aid information to approximately 200 students a year. Students served by the Individual Enrichment Program are primarily first-generation college attendees, economically disadvantaged, or disabled. These students are identified by high school counselors as having potential for success in college.
A unique component of the Individual Enrichment Program is its transitional Summer Session. This compressed semester enables students to hone their academic skills in a structured environment in preparation for the expectations of college. At the same time, it provides opportunities for cultural enrichment and acclimatization to campus residential life. The Summer Session provides students with a valuable "head start," both academically and socially, to the college experience. With help from a team of dedicated professionals and peer tutor counselors, incoming freshmen develop the skills necessary to be successful in college. Statistics indicate that Student Support Services recipients are twice as likely to remain in college than those without intervention and are retained through graduation at a higher rate than most average non-risk students.
For several hundred MCLA graduates, the Individual Enrichment Program has been a pathway to success in business, academia, law, theater, communications, and the helping professions.
