Leon Fraser is a lecturer in the Management & Global Business Department of Rutgers Business School and executive director of STEP.
The Scholars Training and Enrichment Program (STEP) is an intensive, pre-college program for traditionally underrepresented students at Rutgers Business School in Newark, N.J. It kicked off its third year this summer. Twenty-one eager students, from a variety of racial/ethnic backgrounds, are participating in this year's program. What is the goal of STEP?
"Statistics show that African-American students are 20 percent less likely to graduate in six years and more likely to drop out than white students. The goal of STEP is to help reverse that trend by increasing the number of Rutgers Business School (RBS) minority students who graduate," says the program's founder, Dr. dt ogilvie, RBS associate professor of business strategy.
The Program
STEP students spend six weeks living on campus and attend non-credit courses before they start their official freshman courses in September. The courses are encompassing and rigorous. The quantitative courses include math (college algebra or calculus), accounting, finance and computer skills. The people-skills courses include business etiquette, public speaking and management (with topics in team building, leadership and diversity). In addition, writing, business communication and study skills are emphasized.
Students also take field trips to learn about business careers in different industries and have social activities to make the summer fun. Significantly, they make many new friends--forming a STEP cohort--who will be classmates and a support network for their entire college career.
The current students are enthusiastic about the program. When asked what they hoped to get out of the program, some commented: "The STEP program will broaden my views on business" and "I want to get a glimpse of the college lifestyle and receive a head start."
In the initial and second years of STEP, the student composition was Black, Latino and Asian. Their grades were tracked from their freshman fall semester and successive semesters. As you can see below, in each semester, the average STEP alumni grade-point average was equal to or higher than the RBS student-body grade-point average.
STEP had a quantifiable, demonstrable, positive result.
In this year's program, the STEP students self-identify as Black, Latino, white, Asian/Pacific Islander, Arab and multiracial. Their academic performance will be tracked as well.
The Future
The STEP program sponsors--PSE&G, Tyco, Citi (one of DiversityInc's 25 Noteworthy Companies) and DiversityInc--have been generous since the program's existence. But this summer is critical. Students next year and beyond would benefit from features that would further increase the likelihood of their graduation from college--and these features require funding.
A program of this type needs cash donations but also benefits from in-kind contributions. Innovative companies can help with products and services that address college students' needs.
In addition, if STEP is to enhance the success rate for graduation, its alumni will need monitoring, support and encouragement through an adviser for all four years of college, and not just the summer before freshman year, which is the current funding level.
Although STEP students' entire participation is at no cost to them, stipends may have to be considered. Some very good candidates decline to participate in STEP because they say that they need the summer-job income before college starts.
We are often admonished to invest in our youth because they will determine the future of our economy, environment and well-being. The STEP program is an excellent investment in a group of future business leaders of diverse backgrounds.
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