Fresno City College students and University students in California have been taking advantage of the support and mentoring The Puente Program has to offer.
The Puente program is a statewide program that has been available at FCC since 1987.
Students commit to one year of English instruction, sustained counseling and mentoring in order to build a bridge or transition into a 4-year university. These tools have been proven to be successful by providing a support system that consists of counselors, instructors, and other students in order to encourage and help students accomplish their college goals.
Mathew Watson, a Chicano Latino Studies instructor at FCC, who works with the Puente program explained what Puente meant. “The word Puente in Spanish means bridge, so the idea of the program is to create a bridge between the junior college and the 4-year university, it’s really about providing resources to students to better help them manage that transition and also go to the 4-year university and not end here.”
In order to participate in the program, you have to meet a few requirements according to the online information available on the FCC website.
Those interested must complete the FCC application and take the placement test.
Eligibility in the program requires enrollment in English 125 and/or 126, Counseling 43, and Chicano Latino studies 11. A list can be found on the FCC website.
Students who meet the requirements can take these classes with other students as a group, which ultimately turns into a direct support system. Combined with counselors, instructors and mentors, these students have been very successful in transitioning from junior college into 34-year universities.
According to the FCC website, the Puente program was founded in 1981 by English instructor Pat Mcgrath and Counselor Felix Galavis at Chabot college in the bay area. Since its creation, 62 additional community colleges have added the Puente program on their campus.
“There are a lot of special ideas that Puente has that a lot of special programs here at FCC have. What they share in common is the idea of having cohorts and having a group of students who are taking classes together, so that they will have mutual support,” Watson said as he described how Puente provides a support system for students.
According to the FCC website, “of the students who complete the the one-year program, 48 percent transfer to a four-year college or university, compared with only 7 percent of non-Puente students.”
Although the Puente program has been known for specifically serving Latino or Spanish speaking students, it’s open to all students who meet the requirements.