Students get second chance through College Opportunities Program

High School seniors who may not meet the minimum entrance requirements for the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, can get a second chance to prove themselves worthy of admittance through the College Opportunities Program (COP).  Deadline for applications and supporting materials is December 15, 2009.

 

Participants in this free six-week summer program are housed at the Mānoa campus and enrolled in classes designed to upgrade academic and social skills.  Room, board, textbooks, and instructional expenses are covered by COP.  Participants who successfully complete the summer program requirements are admitted to UHM and advance to COP’s First-Year Academic Program in the fall semester.

 

Last year, 99 percent of the COP participants successfully completed the summer program and were admitted to UHM.  “Over the past ten years, approximately 94% who passed the summer program successfully completed their first year at UH Mānoa,” said Michael H. Maglaya, COP director.

 

During the First-Year Academic Program, students are required to enroll in classes on a full-time basis (12 credits), live on campus, attend COP group meetings and individual appointments with COP counselors.  Students benefit from “one-stop” advising services at the COP office on issues related to course registration, career planning and exploration, financial aid, on-campus employment, and a variety of other concerns.  Students are fully responsible for all college-related expenses during the First-Year Academic Program including tuition and fees, housing, meal plan, books and supplies.

 

COP began in 1970 at UH Mānoa as part of a national Model Cities Project funded by the federal government.  In 1973, the Hawai‘i State Legislature authorized general funds for COP to recruit, screen, select, and prepare Hawai‘i residents statewide for a “summer and first-year residential college experience” on the Mānoa campus.

 

Applications may be downloaded from the COP website at www.hawaii.edu/cop. 

 

For more information, call 956-6186, email copuhm@hawaii.edu or visit the office at the Queen Lili'uokalani Center, Room 308, 2600 Campus Road, Honolulu, HI  96822.