Comprehensive steps by the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) to work with area K-12 schools to prepare educationally disadvantaged students for admission to the University of California and other universities are paying off. For instance, UCSD’s Early Academic Outreach Program – an initiative that offers an array of academic, informational and motivational support from middle school through high school in San Diego and Imperial Counties – reports its efforts have yielded the following results in recent months:

Students who participate in the Early Academic Program (EAOP) throughout high school are twice as likely to complete rigorous UC preparatory coursework by the end of their senior year as their non-EAOP counterparts, according to an independent study released this year on student participation in UC-sponsored EAOP programs. The study, the first of its kind done on EAOP, establishes, according to the UC Office of the President, a positive link between outreach and UC admission.

The number of high school seniors from historically underrepresented groups (including African American, Chicano/Latino, and American Indian) in San Diego and Imperial Counties who were UC-eligible after completing the EAOP program has increased steadily from 349 in 1998-99 to 456 in 2000-01, an overall increase of 30.7 percent.

In addition, preliminary data for the 2001-02 school year indicate the number of UC-eligible EAOP high school seniors from underrepresented groups in the area is expected to increase from 456 to about 625 during this period.

The number of seventh- and eighth-grade underrepresented students served by UCSD’s EAOP program increased from 3,913 in 1999 to 6,791 in 2001, an increase of 74 percent.

Available data indicate significant increases in the number of eligible African American, American Indian, and Latino/Chicano students in San Diego and Imperial Counties who were admitted to a UC campus after completing the UCSD-sponsored EAOP program. For instance, the number of Chicano/Latino EAOP graduates admitted to UC increased from 223 in 1999 to 312 in 2001, an increase of 39.9 percent. In addition, the number of African American EAOP students from the area admitted to UC increased from 27 in 1999 to 66 in 2001, a jump of 144.4 percent.

Overall, of the approximately 1,500 high school seniors served each year by UCSD’s EAOP program in San Diego and Imperial Counties, more than half are eligible to attend UCSD and other UC campuses upon graduation, and more than 80 percent will go on to attend college at a UC campus or elsewhere.

EAOP is a UC-systemwide program administered by the UC Office of the President for more than 25 years. EAOP programs are currently active on nine UC campuses, and in San Joaquin Valley, representing the largest student-centered initiative in the state.

“Significant progress is being made,� says Rafael Hernandez, EAOP director at UCSD, “especially when you consider that many of these students will be the first in their family to ever attend college. Through the hard work of our committed staff and the positive relations we’ve developed with area schools, parents and community, EAOP hopes to continue to have an impact on the college-going rates of educationally disadvantaged students.�

UCSD’s EAOP program was established in 1976 and currently serves more than 13,000 students at 96 schools in San Diego and Imperial Counties through the university’s Student Educational Advancement Division, under Student Affairs.

Services provided by UCSD’s program include: online distance tutoring via web cams with UCSD undergraduates; PSAT/SAT exam preparation; campus visits; academic counseling; summer residential experiences at UCSD; college admissions workshops; informational/instructional sessions for parents, and academic outreach to Native American reservations.

For more information on EAOP and other outreach programs at UCSD designed to increase the college-going rates of low-income and underrepresented students, visit the UCSD Student Educational Advancement website here.