Endowed Student Support Positions Giving Options
The most valuable and essential component of the STEPP Program consists of our people, and at the core of our strong support network is a small faculty team. Helping to endow the STEPP faculty positions will help to ensure that the innovative core of the program will remain in place long-term, furthering the mission of STEPP through research-informed approaches that directly support student success. Specifically, by fully endowing our Transitional Specialist and Instructional Specialist roles, we will be able to ensure that students in STEPP are able to connect with support for their postsecondary goals from their senior year of high school and throughout the university experience.
Endowed Faculty – Transition Specialist
The STEPP Transition Specialist has the unique opportunity to serve as a bridge between high school and college for incoming students (and their families). Providing students with their first introduction to the academic, professional, and personal rigors needed to be successful in higher education the Transition Specialist helps our students begin to see themselves in the college setting early and plan accordingly. Through an intentional mix of information and engagement opportunities throughout that last year of high school and the summer before matriculation, the Transition Specialist can help our newest Pirates hit the ground running when they arrive. Students in STEPP demonstrate retention rates, graduation rates, and first destination data that exceeds most institutional numbers across the country, and we believe that this strong beginning contributes to this success.
In addition to direct support to students participating in STEPP, the Transition Specialist addresses a broader mission for STEPP, to “open the door to a college education for students with learning disabilities here and at other universities.” By working closely with students in their journey to college, this team member is able to learn alongside our students and maintain a communication loop with our K12 partners that can benefit a much wider group of students. For example, transition curriculum materials are developed and shared freely on the STEPP website for students in transition regardless of their anticipated postsecondary destination.
Endowed Faculty – Instructional Specialist
Students enrolled in the STEPP Program benefit from a parallel curriculum that is designed to equip them with skills and strategies to be successful regardless of their major and post-graduate goals. This programmatic framework meets students where they are, links to key transition points in the college experience, and is accessible to students as they cycle through different stages of personal growth. By teaching students learning strategies that are appropriate for the college setting and helping them connect those strategies to daily academic routines, the STEPP Instructional Specialist leads efforts for students to build skills and confidence in areas such as self-advocacy, leadership, understanding their learning profile, time management, and many more.
The Instructional Specialist also serves as an advisor to students in the program. STEPP utilizes a co-advising model to maintain partnerships with academic units across the university in support of students with major exploration, academic progression, and career readiness. The Instructional Specialist is able to develop a personalized understanding of our students’ needs and apply that knowledge by creating an individualized academic advising experience for each student enrolled in our program.