University of Virginia Library

Placing A 'Higher Real Value' On Education

By BILL BARDENWERPER

Almost without
exception, everyone attending
classes this summer is either
frantically trying to catch up
with the rest of his classmates
or, on the other hand,
zealously trying to get ahead.
But as noted, there is an
exception to every rule. In
fact, there are at least 41
exceptions, to be sure, enrolled
at the University this summer
who are attempting to do a
little bit of both. . . that is,
catch up and get ahead at the
same time.

Transition Students

These are the students
enrolled in the University's
Transition Program which
according to Program Director
Bill Elwood, is geared primarily
to those students who come
from a "non-bookish culture"
but who at the same time stand
out in that environment. In
other words, students selected
for the Transition Program are
those whose "family and
community resources are not
those which are traditionally
college bound." They generally
come from rural high
schools which do not send large
percentages of their graduates
on to college.

The University's
Transition Program came into
being four years ago since it
was believed by some that the
University was catering only to
"obvious winners" while those
students who may have been
deprived of a quality secondary
education (no fault of their
own) were being denied
admission ultimately on that
basis alone. Thus, the
Admissions Office and Mr.
Elwood met at that time to
determine which student it was
who needed that special
consideration as well as to
establish the criteria upon
which the student's application
was to be based.

Upper Third

Generally, the Transition
student is in the upper third of
his H.S. graduating class but
has a particular academic
weakness as demonstrated in
his college board scores.
However, as
'teacher-tutor-counselor' Barb
Savage points out, the only real
consistency is that they come
from non-competitive high
schools. "Even then, adds
Barb, "some come from prep
schools." "Transition students
generally stand well in the
competition they come from,"
comments Mr. Elwood, "which
is why they apply to the
University in the first place.
And when you change the
order of the competition," he
adds, "they usually perform up
to that standard" which might
explain why the Transition
Program awards approximately
the same percentage of degrees
to its students as does the rest
of the University–75 per cent
as compared to 51 per cent on
the national average.

High Percentage

This surprisingly
high completion percentage,
contends Mr. Elwood, is likely
a result of the "higher real
value" which the Transition
student places on education as
compared to the "status value"
which the normal entering
student places upon it.

The program, which runs
from June through August and
has a limit of about 40-50
students, is composed of about
50 per cent black and 50 per
cent white students. The
students work from 8-12 every

morning, then have math for
11/2 hours, then Logic and
English writing for 3/4's of an
hour each. On Wednesday
afternoons, the students must
take a science course of their
choice—either Physics,
Astronomy or Chemistry.

Discussion Group

On Monday and
Thursday evenings the students
break up into small discussion
groups to evaluate the books
which they were encouraged to
read over the course of the
week. And in order to develop
the proper study habits
necessary to accommodate such
a work load, explains Barb, the
Transition students are given
schedules of when and what to
study. Friday and Saturday
nights are thus the only 'free'
evenings the Transition
students are really given.

The students receive
grades only in the math and
science courses, for as Mr.
Elwood points out, "the
evaluation is built right in. For
most of the students," adds
Mr. Elwood, "there is a sense
of adventure in it all since they
are the first college educated
in the family. The Transition
student is also possibly more
mature than the average
student since he knows better
what he wants."

Rigid Schedule

Program Co-director
Clarence Cain explains that
while the schedule is a bit more
rigid this year than in previous
summers, it changes from year
to year with the group of
people. "For instance," he
says, "this summer we have a
number of students who are
more academically prepared
than ever before." However
Barb adds that while some may
seem very well prepared, "you
can never tell how they would
have done without the
Program."