February 28, 2011

UCSB Early Academic Outreach Presents Higher Education Week

The Early Academic Outreach Program at UC Santa Barbara is hosting its winter Higher Education Week, a four-day event beginning March 1. It will bring representatives from universities, colleges, and other institutions of higher education to high schools in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties to meet with students and discuss post-high school educational opportunities.

The event will include half-day visits to each of the schools, as well as two special events for parents and families at Fillmore High School for Santa Paula and Fillmore families at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 1. On Wednesday, March 2, the second family night event will take place for high school students and parents throughout Oxnard at the Oxnard Performing Arts Convention Center, 800 Hobson Way, at 6 p.m.

Presentations, which will be followed by college fairs and breakout sessions on financial aid and college admissions, will take place at Hueneme and Channel Islands High Schools on Tuesday, March 1. On Wednesday, March 2, the event will move to Oxnard, Pacifica, and Rio Mesa High Schools. On Thursday, March 3, it will be held at Carpinteria High School for the first time. The week will end with visits to Lompoc and Santa Maria High Schools on Friday, March 4.

In all, more than 4,000 high school juniors will hear from representatives from the UC, Cal State, and community college systems; private colleges and universities; and private vocational and trade schools.

Other participants will include the Santa Barbara Scholarship Foundation and various Career Tech Education programs from participating community colleges.

One out-of-state campus is participating from the University of New Mexico.

"Higher Education Week is designed to promote broad awareness across the junior class about college eligibility, admissions testing, and financial aid resources for high school juniors and their parents," said Britt Ortiz, director of the UCSB Early Academic Outreach Program. "Over the course of four days, we will orchestrate the participation of over two dozen statewide college representatives, and will address 85 to 90 percent of each junior class at the nine participating high schools.

It is a mobile college fair that comes right to the front door of each high school.

We are trying to make college awareness and access as easy as possible for all students."

The mission of the Early Academic Outreach Program at UCSB is to increase the number of students who have the opportunity to achieve a postsecondary education.

EAOP uses four key strategies –– academic enrichment, entrance exam preparation, academic advising, and knowledge about college –– to help students attain college eligibility and participate in higher education.

A variety of pre-college programs offered on an annual basis gives students the opportunity to visit UCSB, meet with faculty members, and conduct research or participate in other academic enrichment activities. Among the programs and activities are College Readiness Seminars; the Education, Leadership, Careers Conference; UC Success Night; Summer Advancement Academies; academic achievement receptions; transcript evaluation; academic advising; and assistance with study skills and testing strategies.

About UC Santa Barbara

The University of California, Santa Barbara is a leading research institution that also provides a comprehensive liberal arts learning experience. Our academic community of faculty, students, and staff is characterized by a culture of interdisciplinary collaboration that is responsive to the needs of our multicultural and global society. All of this takes place within a living and learning environment like no other, as we draw inspiration from the beauty and resources of our extraordinary location at the edge of the Pacific Ocean.