FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 12, 2011
Contact: Anika Mitchell Perkins
(662) 329-7119
aperkins@pa.muw.edu

Students experience academic success through Summer Developmental Program

COLUMBUS, Miss. – With a goal of providing strategies in various academic areas, Mississippi University for Women’s Center for Academic Excellence is prepared to help all students succeed.

The center brings together a variety of services including academic advising, tutoring, disability services, student success advice, academic success workshops and individualized guidance.

Kimberly Taylor-Gathings, coordinator of student retention initiatives, worked with six students who completed this year’s Summer Developmental Program. They were from Columbus, Crawford, Amory, Louisville, Senatobia and Greenwood.

“Once the students have successfully completed the program, they will be able to enroll as a freshman and register for fall classes at MUW,” she said. “Students will also receive yearlong academic support through the Center for Academic Excellence.”

Dr. Richard Holden, professor of education, said, “I enjoy teaching the algebra portion of the program to these students because they often arrive with weak mathematics skills, but a strong desire to learn. It is fun to see their faces light up when concepts begin to make sense and problem-solving becomes easier, more enjoyable and more applicable to their lives.”

Taracious Carter of Louisville said he was excited about entering MUW this fall. He will study business management.

“The instructors challenged us, and the staff helped me find a mentor (Dr. Phillip “Flapp” Cockrell). I was able to learn from him and the way he carried himself,” Carter said, about the director of student life. “The greatest accomplishment is that we all passed.”

The Summer Developmental Program has been in place since 1996. It was established by the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning to assist students who do not meet regular college admission requirements in making the transition to college. The program is designed for motivated students who desire the opportunity to demonstrate basic academic skills for college entry work.

For more information about services provided by the Center for Academic Excellence, call (662) 329-7138 or visit http://web2.muw.edu/index.php/en/main-academic-support/.