Student tracking is much easier if items 1 and 2 are in place and students are progressing through a coordinated sequence of courses and activities, rather than proceeding piecemeal. This is especially true for non-traditional students transferring to a large and often impersonal senior institution. Making large-scale institutional change is difficult, and institutionalization of projects initially funded with soft money is extremely difficult in an environment of constrained budgetary resources. As in any major funded effort, be prepared for the unexpected. Unpredictable disappointments, delays, and obstacles are all part of the program s natural evolution.
Programs can survive without direct funding of scholarship dollars by the funding agency.
By admitting students as a cohort, the program creates a family of peers who develop their own group survival techniques and strategies. There were a number of partners involved in this particular enterprise. During the fourth year of the project Lakeland Community College and Loraine Community College came on board as project participants. We also had a collaborative relationship with the Cleveland Foundation in as much as they were the fiscal agents for the Ford Foundation project. Each of the aforementioned community colleges played a critical role in the project by not only providing program participants, but also by assuring that students transferring from the community college had the required coursework to insure a smooth transition to the four-year institution.