{"80971":{"#nid":"80971","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Tech Retention Program Receives National Honors","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech\u0027s Challenge Program is one of four college retention programs to receive the 2004 Lee Noel and Randi Levitz Retention Excellence Award.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The honor is a reaffirmation of what we do and a recognition that we play a critical role in the lives of our students,\u0022 said S. Gordon Moore, director of Georgia Tech\u0027s OMED Educational Services, which runs the Challenge Program.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe award is given by Noel-Levitz, a higher education consulting firm, and is being presented at this year\u0027s National Conference on Student Retention this week in New Orleans. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022These programs exemplify what colleges and universities can do in terms of helping students make the most of their college experience,\u0022 said Teresa Farnum, Noel-Levitz vice president of retention services.  \u0022The four institutions honored this year have created programs that foster student achievement and put men and women on the right path to success.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech\u0027s Challenge Program is an intensive five-week program held each summer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nfor incoming Georgia Tech freshmen.  Students take core courses that simulate a typical student\u0027s freshman year, live in campus residence halls, and make social and academic preparations for the transition to college. The program is open to all students, but is targeted to helping minority students adjust to college life.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe courses students take in Challenge don\u0027t count toward a student\u0027s degree, but that doesn\u0027t mean participants don\u0027t take them seriously, said Moore.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Students who have a 4.0 grade-point average (GPA) at the end of the program receive their entire $500 tuition payment back,\u0022 explained Moore. Those who end up with a 3.5 GPA get $350 back, while those who finish with a 3.0 GPA get $150 back.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMinority students are often only the second generation in their family to go to college, while science and engineering majors are often the first in their family to study those fields, said Moore. \u0022Challenge gives them a preview of what life at Georgia Tech will be like, so they can have a chance to adjust before classes start counting toward their degree,\u0022 he said.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOther programs honored by Noel-Levitz this year include Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Academic Advising and Outreach Center; State University of New York at New Paltz, EOP Freshman Year Experience; and University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Strategies for Academic Success.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"Georgia Tech\u0027s Challenge Program is one of four college retention programs to receive the 2004 Lee Noel and Randi Levitz Retention Excellence Award.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27304","created_gmt":"2004-07-16 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:01:58","author":"Matthew Nagel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2004-07-16T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2004-07-16T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"80981":{"id":"80981","type":"image","title":"Challenge Program","body":null,"created":"1449178079","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:27:59","changed":"1475894696","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:44:56"}},"media_ids":["80981"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELaura Diamond\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elaura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-894-6016\u003Cbr \/\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-660-2926\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["david.terraso@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}