TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama Student Support Services Program is celebrating its 30th anniversary this academic year with a record of providing outreach and support services to some 2,500 undergraduates at UA since 1976.
“The Student Support Services program has been a valuable asset to the UA community. Not only has the program brought in close to $5 million dollars in federal money, it has been a pillar of strength in terms of its longevity in helping first-generation and low-income students with academic needs attain a college degree,” said Wendy Cogburn, SSS manager at UA.
In 2001, SSS started a program to provide monies to diffuse student loan debt for eligible students, allowing them to finish their degree, and the initiative has been continued to help students affected by Hurricane Katrina. This effort has helped at least 1,000 first-generation and/or economically disadvantaged program participants successfully complete their undergraduate degree.
When Cogburn thinks to the future of SSS she thinks that there will be two prominent goals that include: focusing on services that are designed to give students the academic skills and confidence to be successful in college and beyond, and to ensure that these students are well-equipped with the competitive edge needed to successfully compete in today’s rapidly changing world.
“Student Support Services has provided exemplary services to help students succeed at the University of Alabama. I have been deeply impressed by the caring, imaginative ways that SSS has introduced students to the resources and cultural richness of the University and the surrounding community,” noted Dr. Hank Lazer, UA associate provost.
SSS has made a commitment to creating an environment in which the participants in the program can succeed. Each program participant is assigned to a full-time counselor who provides academic advising and counseling, career and financial aid counseling, and advice on graduate school admissions.
Program participants can take advantage of a private computer lab as well as several personal study areas including a student lounge on the second floor of Osband Hall.
Through the Center for Teaching and Learning, where the SSS Program is housed, UA currently has an agreement with Kaplan Testing Service (Kaplan-on-Campus) that provides Kaplan review courses free of charge to SSS participants. Since 2001, some 40 students have enrolled in these courses and many have successfully completed requirements for admission to graduate and professional schools around the country.
“While completing my undergraduate degree at Alabama, I was also a Student Support Services participant. As I worked in that nurturing atmosphere, I received the awards of Best Undergraduate Creative Writer and Best Undergraduate Poet in the department of creative writing,” said Kwoya Fagin who is now working on her MFA degree and teaching classes at UA.
Perren Banks, a sophomore from Uniontown majoring in biological sciences at UA and an SSS participant, is the recipient of a national scholarship for study abroad this summer at the University of Liverpool in England. Only 20 students in the country are selected for participation in this program and for the accompanying scholarship to assist in funding. As a first-generation college student at UA, Banks exemplifies the best qualities of an undergraduate student. His participation in Student Support Services at UA is what enabled him to compete for the scholarship.
For more information, contact Cogburn at WCogburn@CTL.ua.edu, 205/348-0537.
Contact
Ian Turnipseed or Linda Hill, UA Public Relations, 205/348-8325, lhill@ur.ua.edu
Source
Wendy Cogburn, manager of UA Student Support Services, WCogburn@CTL.ua.edu, 205/348-0537