Portland Scholars (formerly Summer Scholars)

Project Status: Monitor/Assess

The Summer Scholars is a three-week summer program followed by a year-long academic workshop that supports early access to campus resources, community, and academic coursework to ease the transition from high school/community college to college.

Accomplished

Welcomed 304 scholars to PSU this fall.
- 159 scholars participated in the Portland Scholars Program during the summer.
- 147 scholars are currently enrolled in the College Success course this fall.
Eligible Portland Scholars were cohorted into the Student Success First-Year Inquiry (FRINQ) courses. Up to 19 Scholars were pre-registered into each section, constituting approximately half of each class.
Hired a dedicated Portland Scholars Instructor and Mentor to teach all on-campus College Success courses and provide ongoing support to the scholars throughout the academic year.
Conducted a holistic review of all 2025-2026 scholars at the conclusion of the fall term to assess key student success metrics and determine appropriate outreach strategies.

In Progress

Continue outreach to current scholars who have yet to register for Winter 2026.
Develop a shared writing assignment for the Summer 2026 curriculum.
Collaborate closely with Enrollment Management (EM) to ensure timely and accurate student data.
Update all communication channels for the 2026-2027 Academic Year (AY).
Prepare to petition the Faculty Senate to request a policy extension for the 2027-2028 AY.

Project Health

Currently working a year at a time, which is hard from a planning perspective
Uncertain funding
Broad support from university faculty and staff

Project Team

Project Leads: Shoshana Zeisman-Pereyo and Sonja Taylor
Team: Andrea Garrity
Collaborators: University Studies, Global Diversity and Inclusion, Admissions, Undergraduate Academic Advising, Transfer and Returning Students Resource Center