Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) Students Case Study

As a Student Affairs professional, the special population I wish to serve is Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) students. EOP students are students who have been identified as having the talent and ability to succeed in college, but have been placed at a disadvantage by financial and academic circumstances. Approximately 93 percent of EOP students have family incomes of less than $25,000 per year (Educational Opportunity Program, n.d.). Although colleges and universities are becoming increasingly diverse, there is a gap between ethnic minority students and majority students in the attainment of higher education degrees. Racial or ethnic minority students have a higher probability of leaving post- secondary education than their white counterpart …show more content…
The authors concluded that minority students perceive academic advising as their most important support resource, particularly among freshmen and sophomores. Few minority students, however, indicated they would seek guidance from White professionals (Burrell and Trombley, 1983, Museus and Ravello, 2010). Although colleges are becoming more diverse, there is a serious inadequacy of training programs in dealing with racial, ethnic and cultural matters (Sue, Arredondo & McDavis, 1992). This reality has resulted in a call upon the profession to be more responsive to and inclusive of rational ethnic minority …show more content…
The researchers argue that the manner in which academic advisors interact with undergraduate students significantly influences students’ development and their overall satisfaction with advisement and college. The authors note that there is a lack of student engagement in educational experiences with their advisors beyond their assigned course work. Additionally, students felt they received little support in their personal development from their advisors. Consequently, students reported they were dissatisfied with