2022-23 Annual Report

Mission Statement

Horizons: A TRIO program assists students in developing academic, social, personal and leadership skills through holistic services including tutoring, faculty mentoring, peer mentoring, career development, academic support, cultural enrichment, and access to global experiences. These initiatives, coupled with a sense of belonging, will contribute to a well-rounded and successful Purdue University experience.

*TRIO is a federally funded program that was authorized by the Higher Education Amendments of 1968.

Vision Statement

The vision of Horizons: A TRIO program is to retain and graduate its participants at the highest possible rate with the highest possible grade point average from Purdue University.

Program Elements

Through a comprehensive suite of services, Horizons ensures students can develop a holistic set of academic, social, personal and leadership skills that will contribute to their overall success. These services include:

• EDPS 490 Horizons Global Leadership Initiative: This course provides 20 students an opportunity to participate in a summer semester abroad at a reduced rate. This is a three-week course during the May semester, and in financial partnership with the Office of Study Abroad, provides a framework that promotes global awareness, change in students’ perceptions, and addresses misconceptions of other people and cultures in an all-inclusive experience. Global Partnerships and Programs provides an annual subsidy of $50,000 and Horizons awards $10,000 in supplemental grant aid to further reduce costs associated with the Global Leadership and study abroad experience.
• Supplemental Academic Advising: Horizons advising is available to students from their freshman year through graduation providing solution-oriented supplemental advising in all aspects of their educational planning, including course planning, study skills, GPA management, and referral services.
• Career Support and Graduate School Preparation: These services are available to support students in their career-related challenges as well as choice of major in reference to their future. Students also have access to graduate school preparation, support, and planning. Referral services to the Center for Career Opportunities are also available.
• Tutoring: Horizons offers its students free one-on-one and group-based tutoring in all core math and science, and foreign language courses. Exceptions for other subjects can be made on a case-by-case basis.
• Accountability Groups: Accountability groups are available to students who have identified a need for support in the areas of time management, study strategies, goal setting, and motivation toward achieving those goals. Horizons staff currently facilitate four weekly groups that are available to students from freshman to senior year.
• Faculty and Peer Mentoring: Participants are matched with a faculty or staff member in their preferred area of study during their first semester at Purdue. Additionally, all Horizons freshmen partake in group peer mentoring led by a trained Horizons upperclassman.
• Financial Aid Assistance: Students enrolled in Horizons can meet with Horizons director and/or staff in the Division of Financial Aid, and Boiler Financial Track to answer questions regarding FAFSA, work study, student loans, or budgeting.

Objectives

• Increase the persistence rates of each cohort of student participants
• Increase the number and percent of participants who will be in good academic standing at the end of each semester
• Increase the number and percent of participants in each cohort who graduate in six (6) years or less

Notable Changes Within the 2022-23 Year

• Horizons in Costa Rica 2023: Sixteen Horizons students participated in a challenging journey of self-reflection, leadership development, and intercultural understanding in Heredia and San Jose, Costa Rica, co-led by Brittany Allensworth (Director) and Marquetta Strait (Assistant Director). This global leadership and study abroad experience addresses the need to expand access to global educational opportunities for first-generation and low-income students, as well as other traditionally under-represented groups. Through this program, Horizons seeks to directly address barriers to global access and provides students the opportunity to study abroad for nearly 65% less than a traditional short-term study abroad program at Purdue.
  • Horizons participants experienced a gain of 21-points between the pre-posttests. Note: The Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) scores range from 55-145 and a positive 7-point pre-posttest difference is considered to have real-world impact in terms of intercultural competence development.
• Horizons Grant Aid: Horizons awarded a total of $13,667.00 in supplemental grant aid to students with unmet financial needs.
• Leadership in TRIO:
  • Brittany Allensworth served as the Outgoing Chair for the Educational Opportunity Association’s Scholarship Committee ( Regional)
  • Marquetta Strait selected to participate in Indiana TRIO’s Members Involved in Leadership and Engagement Program (MILE) Program ( State)
  • Miaya Scott appointed to serve on Alumni Committee and Student Leadership Conference Committee ( State)
• First-Generation Day Celebration: To commemorate the annual First-Generation College Student Celebration Day on Nov. 8, 2022, Horizons facilitated a weeklong celebration including professional headshots, first-generation panel, a first-generation film night, and a panel comprised of First-Generation alumni, faculty, staff, and students at Purdue University. This panel centered and amplified the voices of first-generation Boilermakers. Topics discussed included impostor syndrome, management of finances during and after college, work/life balance, first-generation identity, and strategies for overcoming barriers commonly faced by first-generation students. The film night included the showing and debriefing of “A Walk in My Shoes,” which details the real stories of first-generation students and educators who supported them on their respective journeys.
• National TRIO Day: In partnership with ACE Food Pantry, Horizons students and staff commemorated National TRIO Day on Feb. 26, 2022, with a ‘Day of Service’ that included building hygiene kits for the Purdue community with a luncheon to follow.
• Increase in Enrollment: Horizons welcomed 148 students (new, continuing, and transfer) into the program during Summer 2022.
• Implementation of Case Management Model: Beginning Fall 2022, Horizons initiated a case management approach in which all staff are assigned a caseload of students and utilize a solution-focused approach to supporting students with a wide variety of needs. Horizons also partnered with IDA+A to develop a dashboard that will assist staff in:
  • Monitoring early alerts as it pertaining to student performance, registration, and financial aid status, etc.
  • Reviewing in-term course performance information
  • Acting on early alerts and performance review by intervening with students directly and/or through their primary academic advisor
• Horizons Receives Micro-Grant from FutureMap: FutureMap is a social enterprise and business focused on serving first-generation college students in the college-to-career transition. With the mico-grant, Horizons had the unique opportunity to develop a 10-week long summer internship opportunity for one of its program participants.
• Horizons Launched Laptop Loaner Program: Due to the increase in students without access to a quality laptop to engage with and complete course requirements, Horizons launched its Laptop Loaner program. With this resource, students can check out laptops for up to two weeks at a time. Extensions are granted based on need and availability of inventory.
• Horizons Team Accomplishments
  • Brittany Allensworth, Director
    • Received IDI Qualified Administrator Certification
  • Marquetta Strait, Assistant Director
    • Spring 2023 BRAVO Award Recipient
  • Jessica Weller, STEM Program Coordinator
    • Received Level 1 Certified Tutor Trainer Certification through the College Reading and
    • Learning Association
  • Miaya Scott, Program Coordinator
    • Received Strong Interest Inventory Certification
  • Kim Brewer, Senior Administrative Assistant
    • Spring 2023 BRAVO Award Recipient

Fostering belonging and a Campus Culture of Inclusive Excellence

Horizons Student Support Services is a part of a network of access and success programs birthed out of the civil rights movement and purposed to help students from marginalized communities earn their college degrees through academic, personal, social, and cultural services. Fostering belonging and a campus culture of inclusive excellence is inherently embedded within the mission and vision of the program.

Download Annual Report

A full PDF version of the 2022-23 annual report may be accessed here.