Lobo Academy students gather for a photo during their summer session at UNM-Gallup
Building Bridges to Student Success
The U.S. Department of Education administers a series of student assistance initiatives that all fall under the overarching title of “Federal TRIO programs.” Of the eight grant-funded programs available, UNM-Gallup operates two: Student Support Services (SSS) and Upward Bound (UB). All TRIO services are designed to provide educational support to students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Generally, they are available to students who are first in their families to attend college, those who qualify as low-income, or who have
documented disabilities. Participants fall along a pipeline that ranges from middle school to post-baccalaureate programs. The TRIO competitive grants are predominantly awarded to institutions of higher education.
The goal of the SSS program is to assist college students with academic development and basic success strategies to encourage completion and graduation. This is done through a combination of personalized advising, academic tutoring, financial literacy training, career and transfer counseling, and exposure to cultural events. Kimmila Simms is the Student Program Specialist for the SSS program at UNM-Gallup. In that role, she also operates the very successful Lobo Academy, which is a summer bridge program available to newly-admitted freshmen and non-traditional returning students. Now in its 7th year, Lobo Academy is an intensive 6-week boot camp that works to ease the transition
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into college. Participants receive instruction in English and math, as well as a University 101 course where the strongly-committed students are coached in college success strategies such as study skills, time management, and campus navigation techniques.
Students are pre- and post-tested to monitor gains, and most advance at least one grade level in one or both core subjects. All Lobo Academy graduates automatically transfer into the SSS program. According to Simms, “Lobo Academy provides summer support to incoming freshmen, then Student Support Services continues that assistance throughout their time at UNM-Gallup. We want to plant the seed and establish the goal of graduating, transferring, and continuing education. We believe continuing on for a bachelor’s degree is our biggest goal.” The intensive oversight provided by SSS does work. The UNM-Gallup program exceeded every federal objective as set
UNM GALLUP
July 2018
