Summer Bridge Program at the University of San Francisco for Conditionally Admitted Chinese Students

Authors

Adrienne M. Bergenfeld, SIT Graduate InstituteFollow

Degree Name

MA in International Education

First Advisor

Kevin Brennan

Abstract

While serving as a graduate intern at the University of San Francisco, I concluded that the conditional admit Chinese students were missing an essential element for academic success.

To insure a higher success rate for these students, I am proposing the creation of a Summer Bridge Program to bridge the gap between pedagogical learning and experiential learning. The program will focus on the acquisition of English as well as successful acculturation into the university. This “Bridge Program for International Students” will help students understand United States’ academic culture and the expectations of the university, introduce students to USF resources and the support services for international students, and help students develop a connection to the USF community and to the city of San Francisco so that they are mentally, socially and academically prepared for their first semester of study at USF.

The program will involve five key elements: Orientation, Academic courses, Cultural workshops, Evening Activities, and Host-families and will be administered through the IEP department at USF. The instructors for this program will be those instructors that USF has already employed through the ESL Department. During the pilot year, USF/IEP will conduct continuing assessments at four points throughout the program: pre-program, post-program, and two times during the program. A follow-up assessment will be conducted four months later. The evaluations, conducted twice during the program by ESL instructors, will measure the degree of increased English language proficiency as well as the successful integration into the host family, into the community and into the school. Additionally, the satisfaction of both the student and the host family will be assessed and reviewed by the Program Assistant so that adjustments/changes can be made if needed.

Numerous studies that examine retention and grade point average indicate that students in support programs tend to perform better than students who did not receive the same type of support. Therefore, the support provided by a Summer Bridge program is crucial to student success.

Disciplines

Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education | Curriculum and Instruction | International and Comparative Education

Recommended Citation

Bergenfeld, Adrienne M., "Summer Bridge Program at the University of San Francisco for Conditionally Admitted Chinese Students" (2011). Capstone Collection. 2451.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/capstones/2451