Minutes CHAS Prehealth Advisors Meeting
June 8, 2007

Bryn Mawr College
38 attendees from 22 Institutions


Meeting was called to order at 9:15 AM in the Thomas Great Hall

Mary Beth Davis, Assistant Dean of the College and  Undergraduate Health Professions Advisor and the coordinator and point person on the Bryn Mawr campus gave a short synopsis of the meeting’s schedule and purpose.
 Karen Tidmarsh, Dean of the Undergraduate College at Bryn Mawr and CHAS rep welcomed the 38 attendees from 22 institutions. She spoke of the CHAS commitment to use interaction among member-school staff members at meetings, such as this, to develop strategies that would make faculty advising more effective.  

Dr. Davis introduced the first panel which consisted of faculty members whose academic support programs are making a difference in facilitating the transition from high school to college sciences, in particular with the under-prepared students.

Jeffrey Tecosky-Feldman, Sr. Lecturer in Mathematics and Director of Haverford Summer Science Institute explained that beginning last year, this 5 week program (still in its pilot stages) included 10 students of color and/or first generation college students who lived on campus from first week of July to the second week of August. It was modeled on a similar program at Williams College which was finding success.

He likened it to a “science boot camp” whereby critical thinking rather than rote memorization is promoted.

The program serves as transitional in an accelerated way with mentoring by dedicated faculty members who focusing on improved study habits, and college level lab experiences.

There is a writing component also involved in this program since it is important that lab reports are comprehensive.

The applicants number about 90 which is reduced down to the 10 number.

Funded by Howard Hughes Medical grant faculty receives a stipend and students are paid for their following years of research.
In its first year two out of ten students did not thrive—and the problems were more emotional than scholastically related.
The students felt like they owned the college—felt a part of it—knew where the resources were and were able to mentor incoming students as a plus. They continue to interact academically and socially all through the regular school year

Kim Whitney-Sauerwein,   Assistant Director of Career Services and First-Year Health Professions Advisor at Dartmouth College

The Integrated Academic Support Program (IAS) targets introductory-level courses focusing on Math, Writing and Chemistry.
Goal: To empower student with the knowledge and skills to advance in these areas of study by using weekly subject specific tutorials and study groups

Participants: Those with a 620 SAT score or lower are invited to participate but does not restricted other students who wish to take part.
Classes: Math 1 and 2 (equals Math 3) and Chem 3  & Writing 2- 3
               10 hours a week: 3 prep,  3 study, 3 individual tutor

                And 1 hour set aside for “search and rescue” (meeting

                w/ dean, faculty, department head)

Facilitators:
Writing 2-3:   Graduate students trained as Teaching Assistants

Chemistry 3 & Math 1 and 2: Upper-class students with an A or A-

                                                  in these courses.

Strategies: Discuss concepts, prepare for exams, share knowledge

Availability of extra time outside the required classroom time.

Success rate: Under 10% withdrawal rate down from 40%
                       Overall increase in GPA

Betsy Horner, Advisor for Student Mentoring Programs, Swarthmore College
Gateway Biology, Computer Science and Engineering
Horner concentrates on the Computer Science and Math
Program has seen results in Under-represented Students

Prior to 2005 those students had lower grades than the majority
In the 2006-2007 academic year no longer a difference

Retention rates for Computer Science :
33%-40%
Normal rate 15 out of 50
This past year 25 out of 50
Series of evening study sessions and clinics geared toward

Retention rates for Engineering:

Normal rate  50%-60%
This year  86%

Evening study sessions and clinics with mentors and professors

Students who excel through these sessions will be hired the following year.

All about building a team

Mentors work in pairs

Meet with 5 students

Role playing

Cookie Rule:

“You eat my cookies—you be nice to my freshmen”

 

Faculty is coerced to give quizzes every two weeks in order to evaluate progress

No email!!

One-on-one communication with dedicated faculty interaction

Horner herself keeps late night office hours 11 PM-1AM and finds it works.

Q& A Period :

Funding? 
Intensity, ie, name “boot camp”?
Would these programs accept student from other schools?

Marketing procedures?


10:30 coffee Break allowed the discussion to continue in the Cloisters

Dr. Forrester “Woody” Lee

Informal speech—from the heart

Spoke of the emergency meeting called at Yale the evening before. Relating to the fact that six junior faculty members of color (4 women and 2 men) at Yale were feeling “a sense of disappointment” one year after they arrived.

The same question that is being expressed by eighth graders, undergrads, summer college students, and post grad academics alike,

“How can I make progress in this environment that appears hostile?”

These students feel that since it is assumed they have settled in, they are expected to make their own way, socially, emotionally and monetarily.

The faculty members expressed it this way, “once you are identified as a star, it is assumed that you no longer need that pat on the back—You have already arrived.” However they expected support and there was significantly very little available to them.

Dr. Lee continued with a chronological narrative of the progress—or lack of progress that underrepresented students have sustained. There was little improvement during the time between 1975 and 1995. What few advancements there were, were not in the fields of science and medicine.
He recounted a story about his own entry into Dartmouth and the initiation of the Black Association of Dartmouth Alumni during that time.
But the main focus of his talk was on the Summer Medical and Dental Education Program for which he is the director.

The Goal of the SMDEP :

Take Bio majors—anyone –and make them better candidates for med school (60-65% of the SMDEP students do enter med school).

SMDEP takes motivated students and through a six-week accelerated and intense immersion in academic components including science, writing and communication, clinical exposure, career planning and biomedicine.

Days last from 8:30 AM to 9 PM with RA office hours and review times composing the last two hours.

Students are taught by Yale faculty, live in dorms, form friendships
Environment is geared toward empowering students to work together.

Other programs which produce future SMDEP candidates:

1)  Amistad Academy Charter School in NEW HAVEN

     Lottery admission—no requirements

     Sentiment:
     “With the right kind of environment kids can learn.”
       However,
     “If you don’t want to go along—then go home.”
     “You are committed or you’re out!”


 

2)  STARS program

     When 20-25% of African American students were successful

     With STARS the percentile rose to 67%
     Mostly students of color

 

Yale System of Medical Education:

No grades in the first two years

Individual responsibility
Required research thesis for graduation

Intensive collaboration between students and faculty

Ended by saying that in order to create an environment geared toward success it takes:

Time
Resources
Effort
Inevitably problematic work

Q&A:

How do white advisors help minorities to feel they belong?

For all advisors their job is to create an environment where these kids feel that they are not impaired—that there is nothing wrong with themand that they are exceptional in so many ways.

How quick does the SMDEP fill up?

March 1^st  is the deadline and

Does CHAS perform as a feeder to SMDEP?

Dr. Lee expressed that he would like to see a structure that it gives preferential treatment to CHAS member school students.

What do they learn that they bring back to the campus?

More than anything else they bring this productive feeling back to their respective campus.

Lunch was combined with breakout groups an informal way to discuss the different topics assigned to each of the five break-out groups.

.

Final Panel: Med School Admissions Representatives
Introduced by Jodie Domsky
Most panelists brought pamphlets and flyers that were included in the folders
The flyers gave statistics which were very helpful for ascertaining what it takes to get into med school.

TOPICS:

Screening Guidelines:

Overall academic file

Experience
Grades
Letters of recommendation

 

Admissions and pre-admissions:

Summer programs—i.e., Summerstart at Phila Colllege of Osteopathic Medicine
Student members on admissions committee (usually includes a minority student)

Support Services:

“Anything a student needs he will get through human interaction.”

 

Unofficial Big Brother , Big Sisiter

Open Door Policy
Buddy System—student chooses a “”buddy” over the summer

Minority faculty list is sent to each student of color

“Get acquainted” dinner
“Cried Foul” Primarily begun for minorities—now available to all

Questionnaire with the goal being to make the next class student’s transition easier.

Tag parties to help with exam taking

OCD about the boards—large study group participation

PCOM –no specific multicultural office—but communications essential across the board.

Failing students are pulled from rotation to concentrate on their studies.

Remediation programs that keep the percentage of flunking out students to 2% (PCOM)

 ADVICE:

Contact with minority affairs

Contact with other minority students

AAMC website

The person—it’s all about the individual—open door policy!

Criminal background checks are mandatory now—instill in your students the importance of being honest!

One thing that was stressed by all member of the panel was the need to address the student’s intention to attend medical school.

Loud and clear the panelists repeated:

“Call us, send them to us, call one or all of us—we will assess him/her from the get-go.”

“If a freshman expresses a real desire to do pre med—get him to us as soon as possible!! We want to talk with him/her.”


There was a question and answer session after the presentation.

Mary Beth Davis ended the meeting with thanks to Patti Maisch, CHAS assistant project coordinator who helped with the planning, and extended her appreciation to all the representatives and the attendees whose input has made this conference a success.

Post meeting many attendees expressed that this type of conference be repeated.