The Summit Program is a unique program at La Salle University that provides structured support within a challenging academic setting to selected first-year students.
Many first-year students struggle with the transition from high school to college. High schools tend to use the GPS model of learning, where the goal is to teach students how get from Point A to Point B in a very specific way; to be considered successful in high school, students just need to replicate those directions exactly the way they learned in class and practiced in homework.
College learning, by contrast, uses a map model, where the purpose and value is for students to understand the big picture. College professors want students to be able to adapt and think for themselves; when they give tests, professors typically change something about the "route" that students have practiced to prompt students to solve problems in new, flexible, ways.
The Summit Program introduces students to these new and often frustrating college expectations. We use lots of hands-on, active learning to help students practice the map model in our courses. We also provide academic support services and intensive advising to help students adapt and adjust in their other coursework.
The Summit Program is a rigorous academic preparation program that provides structured support within a challenging academic setting to targeted first‐year students. Most students struggle with the transition from high school to college, and this program provides additional resources and services to support that transition. Promising students are placed in the Summit Program by the Admissions Office because they have great potential for success at La Salle University, although their admissions files include references to one or more risk factors that indicate that they may be underprepared for the difficult transition from high school to college; common risk factors include some combination of low SAT/ACT scores, low grades in one or more subjects, or a low GPA.
OVERALL SUMMIT PROGRAM GOALS:
1. To nurture a community of scholars who are active participants in the La Salle University community and in the broader Philadelphia community of which we are all members.
2. To create a sense of collegiality among Summit students through team building exercises, a residential learning community, and small class sizes to promote active student participation and a close working relationship between students, program staff, and faculty.
3. To create programming and initiatives that increase retention and matriculation rates among students identified for the Summit Program, thereby supporting the Lasallian mission to ensure that all students have access to educational opportunities regardless of economic or educational disadvantages.
