Summer Bridge program offered to high school seniors

HANCEVILLE, Ala. — Wallace State Community College announces it is offering a Start Right Summer Bridge program for qualifying high school seniors that aims to help incoming freshmen transition to college. The program will provide academic, motivational, social, and scholarship support in a three-week format to help financially in-need students Start Right on their path to degree completion.

By participating, qualified students could avoid taking developmental level math and/or English courses, saving them both time and almost $2,000 in tuition and fees. They will also earn one college credit by completing Freshman Seminar during the Summer Bridge program.

The main campus in Hanceville will offer General Studies, Career Technical Studies, and Health Science Studies options. A second General Studies option will be available at the Oneonta Campus.

“With COVID, we know there are students who may have suffered academically, which could create a barrier to them entering college,” said Christine Wiggins, Title III Coordinator at Wallace State. “With the Start Right Summer Bridge program, we’re hoping to level the playing field and make that transition a bit smoother, save them from taking developmental classes that would add time and cost, and introduce them to the college in a way that may actually put them ahead of the game when classes start in the fall.”

Applications will be accepted through May 30 for the 2022 Start Right Summer Bridge. Classes will be held four days per week, six hours per day, for three full weeks. Offered as a hybrid option, students will spend two days each week on campus with two days of remote learning online. Lunch will be provided each day the student is on campus.

The program is open graduating high school seniors in the Wallace State service area who have a math or English ACT of 18 or lower or a GPA lower than 2.75 plus a C or lower in Algebra II and/or English IV if they do not have an ACT score. Income eligibility requirements will be determined during the application process. Students can apply at https://bit.ly/WSCCSummerBridge.

The program is made possible by a $72,338 grant from the Alabama Commission on Higher Education.

For more information, contact Wiggins at 256.352.8462 or christine.wiggins@wallacestate.edu.