ODASIS Problem Statement

Problem Statement The Office of Diversity and Academic Success in the Sciences (ODASIS), is an academic support unit within the Division of Life Sciences at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. The goal of ODASIS is to increase the recruitment and academic success of underrepresented students, as well as educationally and economically disadvantaged students, who are interested in pursuing careers in the research and health professions. Since its inception, the program has successfully graduated several students into the health professions, especially medicine, and has been recognized for its contribution towards diversity in health care. Due to the success of ODASIS, a growing number of students are enrolling and with that a need for resources to efficiently manage the program and provide the students with the tools and support they require.
Target Population ODASIS primarily supports underrepresented minority students as well as those from educationally and economically disadvantaged backgrounds. The term “underrepresented” refers to racial or ethnic groups that are not adequately represented in the health professions relative to their numbers in the general population. This group includes African-Americans, Hispanics, Hawaiian Pacific Islanders and …show more content…
Providing this levels the playing field and allows students to accomplish their goals. The aforementioned support system includes mentorship opportunities, supplemental instruction, workshops on study techniques, summer programs and access to advisors. From 1990 to 2016, ODASIS has graduated 466 students into medicine, 85 into Osteopathy and 179 into other professions in healthcare encompassing dentistry, physician assistance, pharmacy, nursing, biomedical research, biomedical engineering, podiatry, public health and physical