The Tutoring-Learning Center (TLC) has been running summer bridge programs since 2016! 

FastTrack (2016-2020): 

The FastTrack Summer Math Program began in 2016 and served students looking to get a jumpstart on their math sequence by using their summer strategically. The program had great success and over 70% of the participants were able to jump up at least one math level prior to starting college in the fall. 

LEAP (2017-2021): 

The Learning Enrichment and Achievement Program (LEAP) started in 2017 and served students looking to optimize their success in college by getting connected, by meeting regularly with a mentor, by setting and working towards goals, and by stepping into leadership opportunities. These students outperformed their peers year after year, with higher GPAs and with advanced progress towards degree completion at UWSP. 

LEAD+/LEAD (2021): 

In the summer of 2021, LEAP was renamed the Leadership, Empowerment, and Discovery (LEAD+/LEAD) Program and was run as a joint program with Diversity and College Access. There were two versions of the program, LEAD and LEAD+. LEAD consisted of a two-week pre-semester experience. LEAD+ closely mirrored the way LEAP was designed with summer and fall components, including credited coursework. In 2022, this program transitioned to being led as a Diversity and College Access program under the name of LEAD. 

Join the Pack (2022 - ?): 

Join the Pack is a summer bridge program for students transferring to UWSP that is jointly run by the TLC and Treehaven, with collaboration with Admissions. Join the Pack is a free program designed to provide a supportive community that promotes student success for UWSP transfer students. The program focuses on connecting the participants to campus resources, leadership opportunities, and community resources. Each participant has their own upper-level mentor for the first eight weeks of the fall semester. The mentor can help answer questions and help them get connected to opportunities of interest. 

Join the Pack includes the following: 

1. Access to a social media group that will provide you with timely information to help you prepare for your transition to UWSP. 

2. An assigned mentor to answer any questions that you have as you get ready for your transition to UWSP. If you don't have any questions, there is no need to communicate with the mentor during this time, but they are there if you need them.

3. A three day adventure at Treehaven (an Environmental Resource Center) from 8/28/22 to the morning of 8/31/22 - where we will stay in dormitories (each room has its own bathroom and shower), make friends, and learn the secrets to success at UWSP! Even though we are at an environmental station, there is still internet access :) (along with a pond with kayaks, campfires, volleyball nets, a basketball area, hiking trails...)

4. A one-day Transfer Student STAR (UWSP Orientation) on the UWSP campus in Stevens Point on 8/31/22

5. A special, credited, 8-week class with your mentor and the program director. This class is exclusively for program participants and a cool added feature is that the participants get to choose the topics that will be included in the class during the 3-day adventure at Treehaven. This class is for your benefit and is, therefore, going to be designed with your interests in mind!

Mentor Information: 

Mentors are upper-level undergraduate students who are chosen for their demonstrated leadership skills and for their willingness to share the knowledge they have gained on their personal journeys towards achieving personal success at UWSP. Mentors are trained to work with mentees, to help them transition to UWSP, to help them uncover their own goals and to support them in realizing those goals, and to develop into the next UWSP campus leaders.

Apply to be a 2022 Join the Pack Mentor Here (application deadline is 4/24/22)

Join the Pack Participation Benefits:

1. Access to information to prepare you for your transition to UWSP. 
2. Treehaven Adventure Experience (food and lodging is covered for all participants)
3. Students who have participated in Tutoring-Learning Center (TLC) summer bridge programs have consistently outperformed their peers in academic performance (GPA) and in progress toward their degrees!
4. Connection to leadership, scholarship, and employment opportunities

Deadlines: 

Join the Pack Early Consideration Application Deadline: June 12, 2022
Join the Pack Main Application Deadline (for remaining spaces): June 28, 2022

Application: 

Click here to apply for the 2022 Join the Pack Program

Questions/Contact Information:

Tutoring-Learning Center (TLC) Contact: Trisha Lamers; tlamers@uwsp.edu; 715-346-2150
Treehaven Contact: Scott Johnson; sjohnson@uwsp.edu; 715-346-2464

There are spaces for 20 Join the Pack Participants. Participants will be selected based on applications. 

To Apply: 

1. You must plan to be enrolled at UWSP as a full-time student (12-19 credits) in fall 2022. 

2. You must be a transfer student to UWSP, with fall 2022 as your first semester at UWSP. 

3. You must be able to participate in the full summer bridge program from 8/28/22 to 8/31/22 (lodging and food is provided by the program)

4. You must be willing to enroll in the 8-week 1 credit fall course - PSL 104: Join the Pack (if selected for the program)

• Research Question: How does having a near peer mentor as a first year college student affect the overall wellbeing of the mentee?
  

• Findings: (6= strongly agree; 1= strongly disagree)
  

• Research Question: How does peer mentoring affect institutional satisfaction at a PWI for undergraduate racial minorities?
  
• Findings: Statistical Significance was Found in Two Areas 
• Mentored UWSP female students of color reported stronger agreement with the statement, "I feel socially engaged at UWSP," than did non-mentored UWSP females students of color (p = 0.034). 
  • In the table below, green indicates the group with the highest institutional satisfaction. Red indicates the group with the lowest institutional satisfaction. 
    
  
  
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• UWSP LEAP-Mentored African Americans reported stronger agreement with the statement, "I feel socially engaged at UWSP," than did non-mentored UWSP African Americans (p=0.038).

  • In the table below, green indicates the group with the highest institutional satisfaction. Red indicates the group with the lowest institutional satisfaction. 
    
    
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• Findings: Trends
  
• Overall, mentored UWSP students reported more institutional satisfaction than non-mentored UWSP students. 
  
• In the table below, green indicates the group with the highest institutional satisfaction. Red indicates the group with the lowest institutional satisfaction. 
  

• Research Question: An exploration of Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS): How does mentoring affect the educational outcomes of at-risk youth from the mentor’s perspective?
  

• Findings: Mentors reported a positive effect for mentoring on the educational outcomes of their “littles.” One interesting sidenote is that female-identifying respondents, on average, reported a higher positive effect than did male-identifying respondents.