OHIO’s PREP program acclimates high school students into higher education

Ohio University’s Patton College of Education has created the Patton Readiness Education Program (PREP) within the Aspire Grant Program in the Stevens Literacy Center to help high school students make an easier transition into higher education.

The week-long program is the first in a series of summer and winter break courses for traditional and non-traditional students bridging to post-secondary education.

OHIO PREP augments the Bobcat Student Orientation (BSO) experience by reinforcing critical skills and tools needed for academic success. The program familiarizes future Bobcats with the campus environment, helping them ease into life on a major university campus.

“Originally, the OHIO PREP program was scheduled right after freshmen completed on-campus BSO in June,” Aspire Program Manager Ginger Gagne said. “The learning modules were scheduled as a face-to-face, four-day campus learning experience which targeted local incoming students from Southeast Ohio.”

With the impact of the COVID pandemic on campus gatherings and classes, OHIO PREP was redesigned to include online learning modules and virtual meetings and is now more accessible and available for incoming students from all over.

Teacher candidates, who are also Literacy Ambassadors for the Stevens Literacy Center, are the peer mentors for the program, working one-on-one with incoming students listening to their needs, helping troubleshoot challenges, and provide working solutions and tools based on their experiences.

Peer mentors will show incoming freshmen a true student perspective of campus and be able to relate to them in ways that differ from the traditional teacher/adviser connection.

"It’s important for students to know how to use regularly-used databases like Blackboard and to learn the resources available to students on campus,” Literacy Ambassador Brandon Rhodes said. “It’s our job to mentor these students get and give them the tools they need to be successful in college. We hope these conversations will lead to a smoother transition to college.”

Literacy Ambassadors will also guide incoming students through low-stakes course work meant to introduce and mimic college-level assignments. While working on the assignments, students will encounter and engage with campus literacy such as learning how to read a campus map and navigate the campus space; academic success skills and tools such as reading strategies, time management skills, and methods for stress reduction; and an introduction to commonly-used learning apps like ALEKS and Blackboard.

"This program is amazing because it gives students an opportunity to be a part of a group before even stepping onto campus,” Rhodes added. “It gives students a sense of belonging in a setting where this is more than likely their first experience being on their own."

Incoming students were sent personal invites to opt into the program, but can also register at the OHIO PREP website. The initial week-long programs that correlate with BSO began June 15 and will end June 26.

“OHIO PREP is a valuable, engaging and a relevant new tool for incoming students to access for free to help build the skills they need to be successful in college and beyond,” Stevens Literacy Education Instructor Dr. Carrie Verge said. “The broader Aspire program in the Stevens Literacy Center, which funds OHIO PREP, believes learning is a life-long pursuit and should be accessible to everyone and builds on the mission of developing and promoting literacy across the lifespan.”

The Aspire programs provide free services for individuals who need assistance acquiring the skills to be successful in post-secondary education and training, and employment. Local programs offer classes at flexible locations, and on different days and times to meet diverse needs.