• Eligibility

  Project Success is designed for undergraduate students with an overall GPA (grade point average) of less than a 2.00. Students with an overall GPA from 2.00 - 2.25 may participate in Project Success when space is available.

• Description

  Project Success is a program that can help students on academic probation regain good academic standing at the university. It is a semester-long program that meets once every week, starting the second week of classes. Students in PS learn how to get and stay organized, how to study effectively, and how to take charge of their college success. The weekly meetings also discuss such topics as campus resources, how to overcome procrastination, stress management, and how to work with faculty. In addition to learning important skills and information, PS students benefit from a system of accountability and support that is provided by their peers and the team of facilitators. The facilitators will be CAEE staff, Career Services staff, and peers who have completed the program. Such a team gives PS students the complete story of what it takes to be successful both in and outside of the classroom.
  
  Students participating in PS are given a free CAEE College Success Planner to help them get and stay organized and benefit fully from the program.
  

Bottom line: Project Success gives students the opportunity to prove their commitment to their academic success.

And this program can make a difference!! Students who completed Project Success during Spring 2006 improved their semester GPA by an average of +.92 as compared to the semester before participating in Project Success.

Students who have participated in PS report:

"it is challenging me to stick with my goals and is holding me accountable when I don't" and that "talking to other students that are in the 'same boat' helps me realize I'm not the only one with problems. It allows me to cope a lot better."

"I was a freshman from Georgia and I was like that ready-to-assemble furniture. I had all the right parts - I just didn't have the tools to put it all together. Project Success gave me the tools."

"Once I realized what I needed to change, the help with organization and time management helped keep me on track and push me. I was able to keep record of my progress of where I was, where I should be, as well as helping me realize how to get there...I really do value everything I learned in PS this semester. I honestly feel like a well-prepared college student. Thank you!"

"Project Success really got me back into the swing of things during my college career."

AND EQUALLY IMPORTANT:100% of the PS students in the Fall 2008 program said they would recommend the program to a friend!

So if you are serious about improving your academic performance and college experience at Virginia Tech, then Project Success is the program for you! SO SIGN UP NOW!

• Dates

PS groups start meeting the second week of classes (week of August 31). The groups will be meeting at the following times for Fall, 2009:




        Group 1 - Tuesdays from 3:30-5:00 pm in Smith Career Services Center

        Group 2 - Wednesdays from 3:00-4:30 pm in 111 Femoyer Hall

 

If you have legitimate conflicts with these meeting times such as class or work but still want to participate in Project Success, please complete an application and provide on the application your available meeting times for Mondays. A third group will be formed if there is enough demand.




PS Application deadline is 8:00 am on Friday, August 28, 2009.

• What to do next...

  Interested probationary students (both newly probationary students and students returning from suspension) should complete and submit the PS Student Application no later than 8:00 am on Friday, August 28, 2009.

  Upon acceptance to the program, students will receive email notification of their group assignment. If you have any questions, please contact Barbara Weimerskirch at 231-5499 or bmweimer@vt.edu.

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PS Success Stories
(Following are the stories of a few of the students who completed Project Success, continued with the program by volunteering to be a peer facilitator, and have gone on to do some really amazing things both here at Virginia Tech and elsewhere!) Click on each picture to read their full comments.

Nicholle Depaz	Today I am a proud graduate from VT who went from a 1.68 gpa as a junior year transfer to a 3.0 making dean's list my final 2 semesters at VT and getting straight A's my last semester there. At 24 [years old]I own a home, have a great job as a civilian for the DoD [Department of Defense], coach at my alma mater and along the way get to help the girls on my team with life lessons and teachings of perseverance along the way ;) Thank you for your program and all that you guys do. Sometimes kids can surprise you when they get a second chance. Congratulations on selection as a 2009 Providence District Champion of Character by the Fairfax County Athletic Council.
Ian McLean-Blevins	Ian MacLea- Blevins-Senior Computer Science major. Congratulations to Ian MacLean-Blevins! Ian is one of our Project Success Peer Facilitators and is also the recipient of the 2008 George Gorsline Memorial Scholarship! George Gorsline served as the Computer Science department’s first head.  Affectionately known as Dr. G to his students, George was a champion of the "underdogs," those students who faced unique challenges, but who persevered and overcame obstacles to complete a degree in Computer Science.  When Dr. Gorsline passed away in 1987, a number of grateful alumni established the George Gorsline Memorial Scholarship.  True to George's spirit, this scholarship is given each year to rising seniors who have shown significant improvement in his or her grade point average from freshman year through junior year, and who have overcome obstacles to become successful CS majors.
	Linda Ferguson-Graduated with a BA in Interdisciplinary Studies with minors in Entomology and Technology Education. "Being in Project Success really helped me to understand exactly where my problem areas were. I was given the skills and knowledge to be a better student, but of course it was all up to me to make it happen. "
	Tiana Otey-Graduated, May 2009. Psychology major. "Project Success has opened my eyes to many skills that I was lacking before I enrolled in the class. My facilitators taught me all about the tools that I needed to be successful."
	Cory Kaser-Graduated, May 2008. Engineering major. "PS definitely helped me learn about study skills and time management. It helped me to turn my grades around. I still use the tools."
Crystal Larimer and her daughter, Chloe	Crystal Larimer-Graduated with BS in Management with concentration in Entrepreneurship Innovation and Technology. " I thoroughly enjoyed being a participant in the Project Success group. We had a large group and the people were so much fun. I was not naturally motivated and driven in school like a lot of my friends were and never needed to work hard to do well in high school."
	Elyssa Klopfenstein-Graduated, May 2008: Wildlife Science major. "PS has done so much for me and I definitely feel that I owe much of my academic success to the things I've learned by being not only a participant, but a peer facilitator. I, like many incoming freshmen, felt that I could just wing my way through college like I did in high school; not studying and getting straight A's."