College Tours and Field Trips

An External Expert Panel validated these practices for effectiveness. They were contributed by GU/TRIO professionals who used them successfully in their programs. You are invited to do the same. Go to this website's “Share” section to learn how to submit a practice and receive help. If we all share, this will become a more powerful online program manual for the community.

Emergency Field Trip Contingency Plan. Alpena Community College (MI) (approved Administrative Best Practice 8/1/18)

While planning for the unexpected is difficult; there are activities within a TRIO or GEAR UP program that require a contingency plan. With planning, field trips for students can have contingency plans for the safety and well-being of students and reduced anxiety for trip supervisors. This administrative best practice field trip contingency plan has been used successfully with TRIO ETS students in Michigan.

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Planning Effective College Tours for High School Students. Wichita State University (KS) (approved Promising Practice 9/25/13)

Conducting college campus visits for aspiring college students is a common practice for many pre-college programs. The Communication Upward Bound (CUB) program at Wichita State University has developed an approach to make this process highly efficient and effective for its¹ students. Rather than accepting the standard campus visit program by the host college that all visiting groups experience, the CUB programs work collaboratively with the institution to customize the experience based on the needs and interests of the students. This approach has increased student interest and engagement compared to previous years when the campus visits were not differentiated and customized.

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Access College Today Program. Wichita State University (KS) (approved Promising Practice 9/25/13)

The Access College Today Program provides students with disabilities, in their junior or senior year of high school, a customized field trip to Wichita State University where they learn what they need to do for a successful transition from high school to a postsecondary institution with special attention to the needs of students with their needs. This approach is unique among the common campus tour offered by most colleges for similar students. The goals of the ACT program: 1) expose high school students with disabilities to a four-year university, 2) learn what is required to be admitted to college, 3) learn about financial resources available to eligible students for college, 4) learn of services available to them at the university based on their needs as a student with a disability, and 5) meet current or former college students and learn of their experiences at college.

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