For years, The SouthernUniversity College Academy has been quietly developing students intoscholars. The instructors takestudents and help them to develop into college life at the beginning of theirfreshman year.
Started back in the early 1990sby Dr. William Moore, the Academy is set up to help students advance theiracademic performance and retention during their tenure at the university.
“The Academy brings in freshmanstudents and groups into a learning community,” said Veronica Richardson,program coordinator.
According to the UniversityCollege Academy’s statement of purpose, the main idea is to “coordinate theuniversity’s superlative resources to maximize the academic, emotional andsocial development of a selected group of ‘average’ freshman students; toconsequently affect the attrition rate and the University’s ability to retainstudents.”
The Academy is intended forincoming freshmen to the university who has not yet collected any collegecredits. The requirements are anACT test score of 19, or the SAT equivalence of that.
Once admitted, the students aregathered into groups according to their major.
Each group of students have allof their classes together, which accommodates them so that they can gain anedge in study groups and the like.
Ashley McGowan, a freshmanpolitical science major from Raymond, Miss., said the Academy is a greatprogram because the teachers help mold the students.
“It helps a lot with youracademics. But it also helps with your social life because you are around thesame people every hour so you can get to know them better,” she said.
Participants follow anorganized, pre-planned course of study for a full two semesters. That course ofstudy includes biology lecture and lab, English, reading, history, criticalthinking, and a respective math.
The students also participate inAcademy Assembly, a short meeting every Thursday where all the classes cometogether as a whole and discuss issues on the class and university level.
Sometimes, they even featureguest speakers.
The Academy makes it mandatoryfor students to do such things as participate in the business and industryclusters that the university offers.
They also require that allAcademy students take the writing proficiency test, a requisite that allSouthern University students must pass in order to graduate.
Currently, the Academy iscoupling the students with the Southern University Student Alumni Associationin efforts to bring them into an active position once they are graduates of theuniversity.
“I like the Academy because it’sa good way to meet people,” said Brittney Wright, a freshman from Denver.