CSCU and Let’s Get Ready Partner Together to Ensure 10,000 Students Graduate from College in the Next Three Years

Today, Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) announced a new systemwide partnership with Let’s Get Ready (LGR) to ensure more students attain their college degree. LGR is a leading national college access and success organization dedicated to supporting high school and college students who are first generation to college and from low-income communities fulfill their college aspirations. LGR’s first and signature partnership will be with the CSCU system.

This fall, LGR will launch an initiative to support students' access to and success in college throughout Connecticut. Providing near peer mentors to CSCU students throughout the state will serve as a key retention strategy. This will be of special importance to CSCU as it supports Connecticut State Community College (CT State) in its move forward as a single accredited institution, and near peer mentors will aid the participating universities in targeting times when students are most likely to be at risk of dropping out. CSCU consists of six institutions, including four regional universities – Central, Eastern, Southern, and Western Connecticut State Universities – Charter Oak State College and CT State.

Through this partnership, LGR will provide its virtual, near-peer coaching program as a systemwide intervention that will gradually scale to support 10,000 CSCU students over the next three years.

Lena Eberhart, CEO at Let’s Get Ready shared, “Let’s Get Ready is thrilled to launch our Connecticut initiative and embark on this journey with the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system as our first partner. Let’s Get Ready's approach to systemic interventions has been tested and shown to significantly increase student retention and graduation across the country, and I am confident that our model of culturally responsive, technology-enabled mentoring will have a tremendously positive impact on CSCU and the state of Connecticut.”

CSCU's trust in LGR's model and impact allows the organization to expand its reach exponentially as it builds a case for transformative state and systemwide post-secondary support for students nationally. This partnership is supported by the ECMC Foundation, which has a history of deep collaboration for post-secondary systemic interventions. LGR and the ECMC Foundation have a long relationship since they funded the organization's system-wide intervention in Maine with the University of Maine system and Southern Maine Community College. Following the success of LGR's work in Maine, the foundation has decided to invest in systemic change in Connecticut.

“By leveraging the power of the CSCU system, we are excited to bring this service to our Connecticut State Community College campuses and our state universities. This mentoring program will be a key part of our retention strategy as we know that engaged students – students who feel a sense of belonging – are more likely to complete their programs of study and go on to be successful engaged workers and residents of Connecticut. This partnership is another strategic tool to get and keep our students engaged and ensure our colleges and universities can continue to be a primary engine for our economy and workforce,” said Terrence Cheng, Chancellor of CSCU.

LGR's expertise working on system wide partnerships in Maine and South Carolina will significantly inform its new initiative in Connecticut by offering an effective solution for its partners and a customized experience for students that follow them across institutions, through interruptions, and no matter their geography.

About CSCU:

The Connecticut State Colleges & Universities (CSCU) is a system of six public colleges and universities that include four Connecticut State Universities, Connecticut State Community College (with 12 campuses), and Charter Oak State College, the state's only online college. CSCU enrolls 85,000 students in certificate and degree programs and provides affordable, innovative, and rigorous programs in liberal arts, sciences, fine arts, applied fields, and professional disciplines. CSCU’s comprehensive degree and certificate programs, workforce-focused learning opportunities, and job skills training programs allow students to achieve their personal and career goals. Ninety-six percent of CSCU’s students are from Connecticut and come from each of the state’s 169 cities and towns. The vast majority of CSCU graduates spend their lives and careers in the state, making life-long contributions to the cultural and economic growth and vitality of Connecticut.

About Let's Get Ready:

Let’s Get Ready (LGR) provides students who are first-generation to college or from historically disinvested communities with the guidance and support needed to achieve their college aspirations. Highly trained, paid college students serve as role models and mentors, and provide real-time near-peer support to LGR students to and through college via fully virtual, cost-effective technology. Learn more at https://www.letsgetready.org/