The mission of the Educational Opportunity Program at Penn State Lehigh Valley is to provide access to eligible first-year students focused on attaining high academic and personal achievement through creative opportunities for participants in an active and supportive learning environment. The program is dedicated to the growth of students through holistic education into mindful members of their community.
Goals
- Assist the Office of Enrollment Management in recruiting a quality, ethnically diverse population with a strong ability to benefit from our academic programs at Penn State Lehigh Valley
- Support the university-wide goal of access and equity to higher education degree programs
- Increase and maintain academic outcomes in the areas of retention rates, graduation rates, graduate and professional school admission, and career placement
- Foster participation of EOP students in programs that emphasize prospective employment and career maturation
- Develop meaningful collaborations with academic and student affairs components and initiatives by assigning liaisons from key campus resource areas
- Create a sense of responsibility and commitment to learning
- Provide students with mentorship opportunities such as academic, career and financial counseling/literacy to prepare them for graduation
- Expose students to civic engagement opportunities and leadership development skills in order to actively engage and participate in a diverse, global environment
- Develop a pre and post assessment instrument to assess program goals for Lion-Hearted Initiative
- Provide learning support services, such as tutoring, coaching, and learning access, all of which promote student success