What is STEPP?

What is STEPP?

Mission

The STEPP Program’s mission is to provide students with learning disabilities who aspire to achieve a college education and who demonstrate the potential for postsecondary success with access and comprehensive support throughout the university experience. By partnering with these students, their families, and a variety of educational communities, the STEPP Program fosters a network of opportunities and resources to empower and support students from admission to graduation from East Carolina University. By providing access to college for a bright group of students, designing an integrated and collaborative system of support on a public university campus, researching short-term and long-term outcomes, and partnering with a continuum of educational settings based on what we learn, STEPP will achieve the ultimate goal of the program – to open the door to a college education for students with learning disabilities here and at other universities.

Funded primarily with private gifts, this program provides a unique opportunity to a population that traditionally may not have access to college.

• Funding Goals for the STEPP Program

Mission Mapping

The STEPP Program aligns resources and strategies with ECU’s strategic plan: Future-focused. Innovation-driven. It supports key mission priorities, including Student Success, Public Service, and Regional Transformation. It also addresses vision priorities, including Social and Economic Mobility, Workforce Success, and Rural Health and Well-Being. By integrating these strategic initiatives, the STEPP Program supports students with learning disabilities in pursuing a college education by providing access and comprehensive academic supports.

Mission Priorities

Mission Priority 1: Student Success

We offer transformative experiences for all students during their time at ECU and beyond.

Objective M1.1: Strengthen graduation and retention strategies to advance opportunity for all.

STEPP: We maintain a 94% first-year retention rate, with 84% of our students either graduated or on track to graduate.

Objective M1.2: Expand access to and participation in transformative experiences and experiential learning.

STEPP: We expand access to transformative, hands-on learning by employing STEPP students in internships—both for credit and not—that directly support key program initiatives like marketing, donor relations, and curriculum design. In addition, we partner with campus departments to place graduate students in mentorship roles that fulfill their clinical requirements, creating meaningful experiential opportunities at multiple levels.

Mission Priority 2: Public Service

We focus our efforts with the community in mind and to achieve goals that enable us to be more engaged citizens.

Objective M2.1: Increase public engagement with and access to educational and cultural offerings.

STEPP: We expand access to educational and cultural offerings by producing and disseminating free, research-based resources, including widely accessed curriculum materials, professional presentations, publications, and community-facing events such as panels and conferences.

Mission Priority 3: Regional Transformation

We evaluate our success by the development of our region, informed by local and global perspectives.

Objective M3.2: Expand and enrich external partnerships.

STEPP: We expand and enrich external partnerships by collaborating with county systems in the Latham Clinical Network, Tier 1 counties, Pitt County Schools, NCDCDT, the Oak Foundation, and national organizations like College STAR—sharing expertise while also learning from partners across the state to better support individuals with learning differences.

Vision Priorities

Vision Priority 1: Social and Economic Mobility

We will be an engine of access and advancement for all learners through innovative teaching, research and creative activities.

Objective V1.1: Increase enrollment and completion rates of underserved populations through a lens of affordability and accessibility

STEPP: We remove financial and structural barriers to student success by offering comprehensive academic support—beyond legal requirements and at no additional cost—including mentoring, tutoring, co-advising, transition support, dedicated staff, and a parallel curriculum.

Vision Priority 2: Workforce Success

We cultivate a culture of care, belonging and opportunity for our faculty, staff and learners and all stakeholders.

Objective V2.2: Commit to sustaining an inclusive environment that welcomes a broad representation of persons and perspectives.

STEPP: We sustain an inclusive environment by providing equitable access and comprehensive support for students with learning disabilities, while partnering with students, families, and educational communities to ensure a broad range of perspectives are welcomed and valued throughout the university experience.

Vision Priority 3: Rural Health and Well-Being

We will improve health access, sustainability and outcomes for rural communities.

Objective V3.1: Strengthen educational opportunities and academic programs to meet the needs of a rural population

STEPP: We strengthen educational opportunities for rural populations by partnering with K–12 systems and community networks to expand access, share evidence-based transition resources, and support students with learning disabilities in successfully pursuing postsecondary education.