SUCCESS

As of October 1, Julie Collins transitioned from the roles of Director of ASM and Executive Director of The International Center for Supplemental Instruction (ICSI) to become a part-time SI Associate and SI Certified Trainer; in this role, Julie is still a member of The ICSI team but on a reduced basis. We appreciate the leadership Julie has provided these past four years, and are pleased that she will remain with us in semi-retirement.

ASM is pleased to announce that Jessica Brooks (Elam) has been named Interim Director of ASM and Executive Director of The ICSI. Jess began her SI career as an SI Leader at Florida Atlantic University and joined The ICSI in 2016. Jess served first as UMKC's campus SI Program Coordinator and Certified Trainer, then as Assistant Director of SI and Lead Certified Trainer before becoming the center's Associate Director in 2020. Congratulations to Jess!

The department of Academic Support and Mentoring convenes an Advisory Council with representatives from all academic units to advise ASM on services, etc. ASM is excited to announce that this fall term we launched a “Refer-A-Friend” initiative suggested by the council last year. In October 2021, students who attended any academic support services following a referral from a friend were entered into a drawing for a bookstore gift card. The initiative was successful, with over 75 referrals for students who had not yet attended one or more of these academic support services!

Recruitment is underway for the 2022 Summer Bridge Scholars cohort, with a goal of at least 40 participating students. The Summer Bridge Scholars program provides an academically rigorous summer experience to incoming first-year college students to prepare them for a successful college career at UMKC.

With the successful pilot of a hybrid program in 2021, we are excited to continue with a hybrid program for the 2022 Summer Bridge Scholars program. The hybrid model includes both virtual and on campus experiences. The first three weeks of the eight-week program will be held online as scholars participate in interactive activities to assist in building their academic skills, build connection with peers, and develop comfort accessing UMKC and community resources. After successfully completing the first three weeks of online programming, scholars will be invited to move to campus and enroll in at least four credit hours of coursework.

Fall 2022 will welcome the establishment of UMKC’s First Gen Living Learning Commons (LLC), which will be housed in Johnson Hall. The First Gen LLC will house upwards of 40 students who collectively share in being the first in their family to complete a bachelor’s degree. First Gen Roo Scholars living on campus will have the opportunity to reside in the newly created LLC. It will offer an added sense of community and targeted programming around financial wellness, resume building, and resilience training to UMKC’s incoming First Gen Roos!