STEPS
STEPS (Success Through Evaluation, Placement, and Support) is a program for first-time freshmen whose English ACT sub score is below 18 and Reading ACT sub score is below 20 or SAT verbal/critical reading score is below 450. These students are required to take a developmental or supplemental English and Reading courses their first semester at Western Kentucky University. A STEPS student will have two majors listed. The first major simply identifies them as a student in the STEPS program. The second major is the student's chosen major. At the end of the STEPS student's second semester, the first major of STEPS will be dropped and only the student's chosen major will remain. Students are required to participate in the STEPS program for their first two semesters at Western Kentucky University.
The purpose of the STEPS program is to help students who are academically under-prepared succeed in higher education while increasing the retention and graduation rates of students with low ACT/SAT scores. This is accomplished by promoting good study habits, fostering relationships with professors and university staff, learning about valuable resources available on campus while being guided by the AARC staff as students transition to university life.
Students agree to:
- attend monthly intrusive advising appointments to discuss academic progress, academic issues, class attendance, grades, etc.
- complete 6 monitored study hall hours weekly in one of the approved TLC locations.
-
- seek free tutoring at The Learning Center if needed.
- attend two Academic Advantage Series: Workshops for Success within the academic semester.
- join a campus organization/group in order to fully experience WKU campus life and all it has to offer.
- compose a reflection paper detailing the overall BEP experience. This paper is due at the end of the semester before finals week.
- allow parents/guardians to inquire about their academic progress, grades, attendance, etc.
- pass all developmental courses with a grade of C or better. Failure to receive a grade of C will require the student to repeat the developmental courses until a grade of C is achieved.
