Advising Program Celebrates 30 Years of Assisting Challenged Students

University of Wisconsin–Madison senior Cynthia Delcourt remembers the midpoint of her first semester on campus, when a “tidal wave” of assigned papers, readings and pending exams swept in, as a kind of high-water mark in self-doubt.

“I was feeling overwhelmed and began to wonder whether I was really meant for this university,” she recalls. As a returning adult student in her early 30s, with only a technical-college background, Delcourt was never far from questioning her abilities.

Larry Edgerton, Academic Advancement Program advisor, reviews a paper with student Goua Z. Vang.

She feels validation today, of course, as a senior closing in on a linguistics degree in the top 10 percent of her class. But Delcourt is convinced she would have reached a different conclusion had it not been for UW–Madison’s Academic Advancement Program (AAP).

“At that point my first year here,” she says, “it was really meaningful to have someone in administration tell me that it’s perfectly natural to feel that way.”

Personal support is one of the hallmarks of the AAP program, which this year marks its 30th year on campus. AAP’s goal is to recruit and retain students from nontraditional academic backgrounds, including minority, first-generation or economically disadvantaged students, by connecting them with the university’s diverse arsenal of academic support programs. The adviser-to-student contact in AAP is often weekly.

The result, many students say, is an almost-family atmosphere in the program.

Kathryn “Kay” Simmons, director of AAP, says the program’s strength is its linkage with the academic support landscape across campus. AAP students are actively referred to established programs such as the math tutorial program, the Chemistry Learning Center and the Writing Center. AAP offers workshops in study skills, time management and financial aid services. It also creates opportunities for student-directed research.

Four advisers, a writing instructor and a study-skills specialist meet with the program’s approximately 200 students and help them stay the course, she says.

Started in 1967 by former College of Letters and Science administrators Joseph Kauffman and Ruth Doyle, AAP began as a response to the civil-rights struggles of the time, and the recognition that students of color were scarce on campus. It’s open to all students, but it has been especially beneficial in improving minority student retention, Simmons says. Minority students are often first-generation students, and many have faced educational or economic disadvantages that can hamper college success.

The admissions process for AAP offers some flexibility when reviewing transcripts, Simmons says. One portion may not meet eligibility, but she says they look for other signs that demonstrate potential for academic success. The process relies heavily on letters of recommendation and the applicant’s own essay outlining goals and motivation.

Despite initial academic profiles suggesting these students would be less competitive, Simmons says AAP’s retention rates are on a par with campus-wide retention rates for students of color.

“The fact that AAP had the foresight to see I had potential made all the difference in the world to me,” says zoology junior Christopher Lee Bares. He enlisted in the Navy out of high school, and joined an intensive college-preparation program that vaulted his ACT and SAT scores. The experience made up for lower performance in high school, he says.

Bares credits AAP with helping him become more deeply immersed in his field. Simmons helped him apply for research through the McNair Scholars program, which enabled him to do self-directed research for a summer at Trout Lake Station near Woodruff. That opportunity helped him land a job this summer doing environmental research in Virginia.

Colette Fournier, a senior in international relations who became eligible for AAP as a first-generation student, considers it the foundation behind her 3.4 grade-point average. She says her AAP adviser, Geoffrey Thompson, has been a caring advocate that has helped her on both an academic and personal level. For example, Fournier says he wrote her letters of recommendation during a job search, and helped her through the paperwork to get state residency.

That experience is common, she says. “In a lot of meetings, there’s a feeling like we’re all in this together. A lot of friends are made through this program. AAP created a sense that there are other students on campus with non-traditional backgrounds like mine,” she says.

AAP is having a 30th anniversary celebration on Saturday, April 19, and has invited alumni back to campus to toast the program and meet current students. The dinner and program will be held at the Wisconsin Center, 705 Langdon St. For more information, contact Simmons at (608) 263-5068.