The Student Academic Success Center is a multi-cultural academic learning community, serving low income and first generation college students with academic skills development, math and writing courses, supplementary instruction in gateway courses, tutoring, pre-collegiate opportunities and graduate research opportunities.

The mission of SASC is to provide equal opportunity for academic development and excellence for all students–especially those who are:

  •    Underrepresented
  •    Low income
  •    First generation in college
  •    Educationally disadvantaged
  •    Physically or learning disabled
  •    Non-traditional students
  •    Affected by bias

We facilitate student transitions, build community, increase retention and graduation rates, and foster a campus climate that is accepting of all students.

We accomplish these goals through:

  •    Direct and supplemental instruction
  •    Learning and emotional support
  •    Academic skills training
  •    Curriculum development
  •    Mentoring and outreach
  •    Partnerships with colleagues across campus

SASC strives to create a diverse and welcoming environment in the following ways: by its use of inclusive curriculum and pedagogy, which meet the needs of a wide variety of students; through culturally competent programming, learning and emotional support, community building activities and mentoring; in our conscious recruiting, hiring and retention of students, staff and faculty from our target populations; and with outreach, collaboration and mentoring of colleagues across campus in order to meet our goals.

We revisit and reassess our commitment to diversity on an ongoing basis in order to maintain a climate where all people can thrive, collaborate, and genuinely belong. This commitment is evident in our long history of diverse programs which serve students from middle school through the process of applying to graduate school: Pre-Collegiate Development Program (1986), CU-Upward Bound (1976), McNeill Academic Program (1975), Academic Excellence Program (1987), and the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program (1995).