The Great Lakes Bay Early College program is designed to fully immerse its high school-age students into the post-secondary learning environments at SVSU and Delta College. The Great Lakes Bay Early College is a unique educational program designed to fully immerse high school-age students into the post-secondary learning environment. It is designed so that students complete the program through the
coursework of their personalized Educational Development Plan (EDP). Successful Early College (EC) students take responsibility for their own effort, education, and behavior. There are no bells, hall monitors, or daily announcements to keep them on track. Students must meet and take responsibility for their own deadlines and requirements. Students are expected to learn how to make smart, sound choices that benefit their learning and success in life. Students are also expected to learn how to monitor their own educational progress, advocate for their own learning needs, and successfully negotiate their way through the post-secondary environment. Soft skills are the key to success in both life and college, perhaps even more so than academic skills. The student who applies himself or herself consistently is more likely to complete the program than a brilliant student who does not turn in homework assignments. Soft skills must be consistently demonstrated and be incorporated into the student’s everyday decision-making process. Teaching, evaluating, and monitoring soft skills is the cornerstone of the EC pedagogy. We do not expect students to walk in the door prepared for the rigors of the program, but we require every student to master these skills prior to transitioning to college-level coursework. Mentors are an essential component of the EC program. Mentors serve as educational anchors to students, as well as the primary point of contact for the parents and college faculty. Each student is assigned a mentor upon entry into the program, and will keep the same mentor throughout his or her time in the program. Parents and students are expected to attend scheduled meetings with their mentor on a regular basis. Credentialing a student (establishing his or her qualifications) for transition to college coursework is determined by GLBEC faculty and staff in collaboration with his or her advisor. GLBEC staff and faculty assess, monitor, and evaluate both the student’s academic skills and the student’s soft skills as part of the learning process. Soft skills credentialing is done after the first ten weeks of the semester and scheduling into college courses follows. For more information, please check out our informational presentation slideshow: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1CM2PDJXFdOfyTeiqPTbqPGe9O-T6B7_BtmZJBC68ET8/edit?usp=sharing.
