The Academic Transition Program (ATP) is a year-long academic preparation program designed to provide assistance for historically disadvantaged, low-income, and first generation college students, though all students may be considered to participate. While these students may not have performed well by the traditional measures of college preparedness such as standardized testing, candidates are selected for the program by showing great promise through overcoming adversity, and by demonstrating particularly strong motivation to succeed in college.
Beginning in early fall, 25 students enroll in a three-credit course designed to facilitate the transition to university-level coursework. In addition, students are required to attend daily supplemental workshops that cover a variety of academic topics, including writing, mathematics, and research. These workshops are hosted by members of the ATP support team, which consists of members of UW Bothell staff and faculty from CUSP, the Library, the Writing Center, the Quantitative Skills Center, and the Media Lab.
After completing the early fall course, students enroll in a Learning Strategies course for the fall and winter quarters, meet with their academic advisors before the beginning of each quarter, and meet with their staff or faculty mentor at least three times each quarter of their first year.
Now into its third year, over sixty-five students have participated in the program. Out of these sixty-five students, several of them have been featured on the Dean's List, while others have maintained GPAs of 3.0 and higher.
Instructors for the early fall ATP course are selected in January of each year. Because of the collaborative nature of the course, and the program as a whole, instructors must be willing to work closely with members of the ATP support team at various stages of the program. This collaboration includes attending course planning meetings in March and helping incorporate the early fall course learning goals into the course curriculum during meetings during the spring and summer.
If you are interested in teaching future ATP early fall courses, please contact Susan Vinson, Student Success Coordinator at svinson@uwb.edu, or Gray Kochhar-Lindgren, CUSP Director at gklindgren@uwb.edu.