West Virginia’s Extended Summer Bridge Program for Black Students

This month 23 African-American students are participating in the Academic Students Achieving and Reaching Success (STARS) program run by the Center for Black Culture and Research at West Virginia University in Morgantown. The five-week summer bridge program serves as an extended orientation for blacks students to become familiar with campus and college life. They take a one credit English course and participate in workshops, recreational activities, and cultural events. The programs allows black students to form networking relationships with fellow first-year students and faculty members.

To participate in the program African-American students must have been accepted for fall enrollment at the university. They are required to have a 2.75 grade point average while in high school and have participated in extracurricular activities or community service. Students in the STARS program only need to pay for their personal expenses. Participants must also agree to attend cultural events and workshops during the fall semester. If they successfully complete the program, the students are awarded a scholarship for books that can be used at the campus bookstore for the spring semester.