Imagine getting a bus ride to Washington State University, eating lunch at a dining center, getting a grand tour of the campus and residence halls, attending an academic workshop, and getting to work out at the Student Recreation Center. All for free.
This is a typical day at a Future Cougars of Color visit. However, according to Anthony Smith, a Clerical Assistant for FCOC, this was not how the program was when he first attended a visit.
“Currently, FCOC has been focusing on the recruitment aspect rather than the retention aspect.” said Smith.
According to the “Visitation Attendance Trends” graph from 2005-2011, the 2007 FCOC visit turnout consisted of 120 students. Comparatively, the 2011 FCOC visit had a turnout of 580 students.
FCOC students who have been retained without assistance from the program are in the 90th percentile. This was because those students were carefully selected and brought to the university. Currently, this number is dropping to the 80th and 85th percentile because FCOC is not bringing in the quality students the program was originally seeking; now, anyone can sign up.
Smith said that FCOC is all about growth, networking and making sure students are appropriately prepared for a college level education and atmosphere.
“We lose sight of that when we bring in a lot of people,” said Smith. “FCOC should bring it back down to 250 students maximum. Students want that small intimate feeling, to know there is a support network here to support them along the way.”
Monica Palmer, who attended the FCOC visit in 2007, agreed with Smith. She said when she received a letter from the FCOC about a scholarship, she felt special.
“Having a more close knit group kind of made us feel important, that we were chosen to come,” said Palmer. “I definitely felt everyone was kind of a family.”
Smith experienced a similar situation. “We did a lot more bonding because we were such a small group and we had the opportunity to do more activities at a faster rate,” Smith remembered fondly.
Andre Jensen, who also attended the FCOC visit in 2007, disagreed with both Smith and Palmer.
“I feel like FCOC being a recruitment tool definitely has more ups then downs,” said Jensen. “I understand the basis for using a merit based scholarship program. But at the same time a lot of people don't realize their full potential until they get to college. A person who really didn't shine much in high school could come to WSU and be a total badass.”
The closing ceremony at the end of past visits was very formal compared to recent closing ceremonies. The scholars used to have a nice sit down dinner at SEL Event Center where WSU faculty and current students could mingle and answer any questions or concerns the scholars had.
In addition to the smaller number of FCOC scholars, there were also ten extra scholarships handed out, including a $10,000, $5,000, and $3,000 scholarship.
The program has crossed hands fives times in the past four years alone. Michelle Henely of Student Affairs and Enrollment is next in line to take over the FCOC program for the following year. However, it will still be focused on recruitment rather than retention.
“I definitely think FCOC would benefit more from keeping it a hand-picked, small-applicant scholarship,” said Palmer. “However, I understand their goal is to bring in as many people as possible. But I do wish they had kept it to a select few and kept it that family oriented special feeling kind of program.”
An FCOC focus group was conducted to discuss potential improvements to the program. They decided selecting students to attend the FCOC visit was a more effective option for admitting motivated students rather than letting anyone join.
However, no changes have been made yet. Donors are leaving the program and scholarships are becoming scarce.
“In reality, the FCOC program is just a visitation,” said Smith. “No one wants to deal with it. This will lead to the demise of the FCOC program if no one steps up to change it.”
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