Is a program providing:

• A two-year plan designed to complete the first two years of a four-year degree in a personal and friendly, yet challenging environment.
• Learning communities offering academic and social support. Smaller class sizes in the communities encourage greater connections with the faculty and classmates.
• An advisor who understands you and your program, will monitor your progress, and help you succeed.
• A summer bridge component for those students needing remedial levels of English and mathematics allowing all students to start college-level courses in the fall.
• Qualified participants enrolled in both classes will receive tuition assistance.

ASPIRE to College Success

Students in the ASPIRE program participate in a variety of programs geared towards college success. Here ASPIRE students are shown at a weekend one-credit Outdoor Activity Sampler course held at the Audubon Center in Sandstone, Minn. Following orientation, which included interns from around the world, students were divided into four groups to bond and enjoy a weekend of high ropes adventures, team challenges, wall climbing, canoeing, hiking, volleyball, fellowship and other activities. Students were accompanied by Ryan ODonovan, ASPIRE Program Coordinator and Lisa Everts, an Anoka-Ramsey physical education instructor.

The ASPIRE program serves students at the Cambridge Campus by offering small class sizes, team-learning environments, personalized advising and various workshops. The goal is to help students successfully graduate with a two-year degree or complete the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum and transfer to a four-year institution.

The program may be an option for high-potential students who think they cant afford college, have parents who didn't attend college, or are a person of color.

National research from the Department of Education shows that students enrolled in programs like ASPIRE are more than twice as likely to remain in college and twice as likely to transfer to a four-year college.

For more information about the ASPIRE program, contact Ryan ODonovan at 763.433.1896.