It’s the end of an era.
This August, 39 students from the University of Tennessee Lead Summer Institute were informed that they would be the program’s final class.
Initiated in 2008 as a program to increase retention and graduation rates, the Lead Summer Institute allowed students from underrepresented high schools to be conditionally admitted to the university. During the application and interview process, students were evaluated based on their academic achievement, status as a first generation college student and eligibility for the state Promise scholarship.
The institute gave these students the opportunity to take college courses free of charge during the summer and, if they met certain benchmarks, gain entrance to the university the following semester.
Emiliano Zuniga, now a senior in accounting, participated in the Lead Summer Institute in 2011. Zuniga was informed of the decision to cut the program during a group reunion with his fellow institute graduates.
“Students were genuinely upset when they found out,” Zuniga said. “It literally went into a two hour debate in the middle of our session. Students were completely outraged and they wanted answers.”
A sharp decrease in state funding in recent years has forced UT administration to rethink budget structures and target programs more wisely, said Provost Susan Martin. The decision to cut Lead Summer Institute stemmed from a desire to focus on programs with broader reach.
“We know that we need to invest in programs that are targeted to help students succeed as they enter the university,” Martin said. “However, we realize that with funding that isn’t expanding very much or at all, it’s necessary to try to think about ways to serve more students.”
To the five students in the UT Lead Summer Institute Committee, their involvement with the program warranted their inclusion in the decision-making process.
“When the administration is assessing the value of a program, that assessment is incomplete without the student’s perspective,” said Rilwan Balogun, a member of the committee. “Our existence shouldn’t be simply leveled to a line item in a budget report.”
Martin said the program had been under evaluation for months and the abrupt announcement of the decision was not intentional.
“We did a very poor job communicating this decision which I regret deeply,” Martin said. “We just simply didn’t have time to communicate with the constituencies that needed to be communicated with …. We take full responsibility for that.”
Due to miscommunication and scheduling conflicts, students from the institute have not met with administrators to discuss the decision.
Although the program will be cut, Martin explained that two similar programs will address the same need: the Volunteer Bridge Program, which allows students to transition to UT from Pellissippi State Community College in their sophomore year, and the three week summer Math Camp.
Despite these opportunities, Zuniga said he feels the Lead Summer Institute program filled a gap that will now be neglected.
“If that program is removed, UT isn’t reaching that demographic of student who is on the borderline of either getting in or not getting in to the university,” Zuniga said.
Even if there was enough state funding to continue the program, Vice Chancellor for Communications and Marketing Margie Nichols said the decision to cut the UT Lead Summer Institute might still stand.
“No matter how much money you have, you have to do what is right for the greatest number of people,” Nichols said. “I don’ think it’s fair to be speculative because there are so many demands on our money every day and so many great programs that we’d love to fund but can’t.”
