Angela Scott Ferencin, MCCC Student Support Programs Manager, discusses the Act 101 Scholars Program during a collaboration meeting with representatives from seven area two and four-year colleges and universities. Photo by Eric Devlin.
Montgomery County Community College hosted representatives from seven two-year and four-year colleges and universities’ Act 101 Scholars programs recently for the first-ever Act 101 Collaboration event. The meeting held in the Advanced Technology Center at Blue Bell Campus allowed attendees to share strategies and best practices to ensure the success of students in the ACT 101 program.
“I ask that we go around the table, introduce ourselves, and get to know one another,” said Angela Scott Ferencin, MCCC Student Support Programs Manager. “The purpose of this collaboration is for us to share our best practices and our challenges. I want to make sure that we're clear about our program elements and expectations. Hopefully, we can keep this partnership alive by visiting each other’s campuses and hosting this collaboration quarterly.”
The ACT 101 Scholars Program provides free personalized coaching and mentoring, educational planning, tutoring, career planning and outreach to students facing educational, personal and financial challenges. Services included personalized tutoring, the Jump Start to College summer program, Bridge to Success Summer program, weekly skill building workshops and other engagement opportunities throughout the year.
Joining Act 101 team members from MCCC included representatives from Arcadia University, Cabrini University, Drexel University, Esperanza College of Eastern University, La Salle University, Manor College and Rosemont College.
The meeting covered several topics related to programming, recruitment and challenges facing each school. The representatives discussed how to support students, events held on campus and which ones resonate with students and student requirements each semester. They also discussed recruitment practices, how students are referred to the program, student retention and student communication. Lastly, they covered challenges and how best to overcome them.
“I can’t thank you all enough for your energy, for the willingness to share, for your gas in driving here, and for your care for students,” said Scott Ferencin. “This is a table that truly cares about students and will fight for student daily.”
The group agreed to continue their conversation again in the future on an ongoing basis, rotating to each campus.