Measuring Success in Summer Bridge Programs: Retention Efforts and Basic Writing

Abstract

Retention experts have developed summer bridge programs as one tool to strengthen students academically and socially in preparation for the challenges of the first year of college. A summer bridge program is a short, intense introduction to college designed to assist underprepared first- year students. Incoming students may be required to successfully complete a summer bridge program as a condition of their being admitted. Or participation in such a program may be recommended to incoming students who show potential but are judged to lack academic or social readiness. Many two-year and four-year colleges as well as universities with a variety of missions offer bridge programs in an attempt to connect students’ educational experiences with institutional expectations. The “bridge” may consist of both academic and social components, often with emphases that reflect the overall mission of the institution. Since many programs focus on academic content such as composition, part-time instructors of basic writing often provide valuable help developing and staffing these programs. The reading and writing that students do in summer bridge initiate them into the discourse practices of higher education, and therefore teachers of basic writing should help ensure that bridge programs do not lose sight of the most important aspects of teach