Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) Program

Students in classroom
Institution
County College of Morris
State
New Jersey
Academic Level
Associate
Issue Area
Transfer
Key Personnel
Program Focus
First Year Support

Overview

The Educational Opportunity Fund at County College of Morris provides a gateway to higher education for students who need academic and financial support. EOF is committed to transform incoming students into scholars.

Goals:

  • Encourage students to continue their post-secondary education and/or to become successful professionals in a diverse society.
  • Consistently accomplish high retention and transfer rates.
  • Strive towards timely graduation rates (within 3 years) of students served.

Program Description

Through the years, EOF at CCM has grown into a comprehensive holistic support system that provides bi-lingual first- generation/low income predominantly Latino college students with customized holistic academic support that fosters persistence to graduation, academic achievement, and personal and leadership development. Today, services include recruitment, summer bridge/college readiness program, parent orientations, individual academic/social counseling, pre-advisement, academic planning, transfer assistance, workshops, professional mentorship, online academic support, and a scholarship. The program meets students where they are, regardless of their background, academic aptitude, social challenges, and/or needs, customizes the support for students individually, helping them fulfill their academic and professional goals.

Outcome

  • For the 2018 cohort, the overall program graduation rate was 38%, compared to the institutional graduation rate of 32%. Below is a breakdown of Latino participant data.
  • The EOF Latino graduation rate was 52%, compared to the institutional graduation rate of 27%.
  • EOF has exceeded even the college's own retention rates, boasting an EOF Latino (FTFT) retention rate of 76% in AY 2019-20 compared to 71% for the institution’s overall rate.