Section 4: Data Collection & Reporting Procedures

Tutoring/Homework Assistance services provide additional academic instruction designed to increase the academic achievement of students.

• Tutoring can occur one-on-one or in small groups before school, during school, after school, during study or lunch breaks, or on weekends and be provided by GEAR UP staff, hired tutors, teachers, trained peers, and/or volunteers.
• Tutoring should be recorded by subject area (Mathematics, English, Reading, Science, Other).
• Virtual tutoring/homework assistance: Virtual tutoring services include services that are provided via remote access through the internet or other means.

Comprehensive mentoring services are provided when GEAR UP staff, teachers, or other school staff identifies students who would benefit from an ongoing supportive relationship with a trained, caring adult or older student, i.e., “mentor.”

• Per the 2008 HEOA, comprehensive mentoring must provide students with financial aid information, and encourage students to stay in school, enroll in rigorous and challenging coursework, apply for postsecondary education, and, if applicable, the GEAR UP scholarship.
• Mentors meet regularly with their assigned student(s).
• Meetings may be on or off campus and either during or outside of the school day.
• Typical issues addressed during mentoring meetings include academic, social, organization or life skill development.
• Virtual comprehensive mentoring: Virtual comprehensive mentoring includes services that are provided via remote access through the internet or other means.

Mentoring programs may include:

• Traditional mentoring programs that match one youth and one adult.
• Group mentoring that links one adult with a small group of young people.
• Team mentoring that involves several adults working with small groups of young people, ideally with a ratio of no more than four youth to one adult.
• Peer mentoring that connects caring youth with other adolescents.
• Typical issues addressed during mentoring meetings include academic, social, organization or life skill development.
• Virtual comprehensive mentoring: includes services that are provided via remote access through the internet or other means.
• Traditional mentoring programs that match one youth and one adult.
• Group mentoring that links one adult with a small group of young people.
• Team mentoring that involves several adults working with small groups of young people, ideally with a ratio of no more than four youth to one adult.
• Peer mentoring that connects caring youth with other adolescents.

Financial Aid Counseling/Advising services assist students understanding and navigating the complexities of financial aid, including:

• Providing hands-on assistance with the FAFSA and scholarship applications.
• Presentations on financial aid or literacy.
• Using financial aid or literacy curriculum, and
• Benefits and how-tos of participation in college savings plans.

Virtual Financial Aid Counseling/Advising includes services that are provided via remote access through the internet or other means.

Counseling/Advising/Academic Planning/Career Counseling services span a spectrum of activities with individual students or small groups of students. Services are defined as follows:

• Counseling services discuss personal growth issues with students, such as decision making, problem solving, goal setting, attendance, behavior concerns, or family issues.
• Advising provides assistance on course selection (secondary or postsecondary), college and/or career choices, or college and/or career planning.
• Academic planning provides assistance on coursework selection, course of study choices, college major selection, assessment advising or interpretation of scores, or assistance with placement tests.
• Career counseling provides assistance about career choices, career planning, internships, or career interests.
• Virtual counseling/advising/academic planning/career counseling includes services that are provided via remote access through the internet or other means.

Note: Data entry needs to indicate whether counseling/advising/academic planning/career counseling services are “in-person” or “virtual.”

Hours submitted into RGI under Rigorous Curricula should cover academic opportunities the school has been able to provide with the help of GEAR UP. These should not be classes or programs that existed at the school prior to GEAR UP's involvement. All rigorous curricula should have clear learning objectives taught in a purposeful sequence to build knowledge over time. Things that fit into this service category do not need to be exclusively in the classroom or cover the entire class semester, and USU STARS encourages schools to consider after school clubs, lessons of classes that have a GEAR UP supported component, or out of school experiences such as academic summer camps or workshops. All items listed as rigorous curricula should be approved by USU STARS during workplan creation or over the course of the academic year.

Note: Courses that have been offered by schools prior to the introduction of GEAR UP that include honors, AP, and core math and English classes, will still be tracked in RGI thorugh course enrollment and completion, but student hours should not be added as a service.

College Visit/College Student Shadowing services take place on college campuses.

College visit is a physical visit to a college campus by a student facilitated/supervised/led by USU STARS GEAR UP staff, teachers, college representatives, or other school staff. College visits should include an official tour, presentation(s) by admissions, financial aid, academic departments, athletics, student affairs, residence life, multicultural affairs, or other college departments.

College student shadowing is a one-on-one experience in which a middle or high school student spends a day on a college campus with an undergraduate student seeing typical college life.

Virtual college visit includes services that are provided via remote access through the internet or other means. Virtual college visits must be facilitated/supervised/led by USU STARS GEAR UP staff, teachers, or other school staff and include the same elements as a physical college visit.

Note: Data entry needs to indicate whether college visit services are “in-person” or “virtual,” as well as the name and type of college visited, i.e., 2- or 4-year college

Note: College fairs should be entered under the student workshop category.

Job Site Visit/Job Shadowing services offer students exposure to the workplace in an occupational area of interest and reinforces the link between classroom learning, work requirements, and the need for postsecondary education. Students witness the work environment, employability and occupational skills in practice, the value of professional training, and potential career options.

Job site visit is a physical visit to a local business or work environment and facilitated/supervised/led by GEAR UP staff, teachers, or other school staff. Job site visits should include visits to local businesses, employers, and agencies to explore different professions or career selections and can be followed by job shadowing.

Job shadowing is one-on-one experience in which a middle or high school student spends a day at a business or work environment with an employee seeing typical job duties.

Virtual job site visit includes services that are provided via remote access through the internet or other means. Virtual job visits must be facilitated/supervised/led by GEAR UP staff, teachers, or other school staff and include the same elements as a physical job visit.

Note: Data entry needs to indicate whether job site visit services are “in-person” or “virtual.”

USU STARS GEAR UP used federal funding to provide schools the opportunity to recruit and enroll more students in CE courses prior to their junior year of high school. Schools can track the hours of CE courses for students who used this opportunity to cover application costs, to be included in rigorous academic curricula. USU STARS understands that tracking these students specifically, could present a challenge for the school, so they can in the 2019/20 school year choose to not track and record these hours, although course enrollment and completion of CE classes will still need to be submitted.

Summer programs are services that include an experience over one or multiple days during the summer (or other non-school year time, i.e., for year round schools).

Here are some examples of summer programs:

• A statewide USU STARS GEAR UP summer camp.
• A local summer camp funded by USU STARS GEAR UP
• A residential USU STARS GEAR UP program hosted by a college/university/community organization.
• Another camp attended by a USU STARS GEAR UP student that supports the USU STARS GEAR UP mission.

These programs include academic enrichment, college preparatory programs/camp experience, credit recovery, and/or remediation programs.

Note: Data entry needs to indicate whether summer programs are providing services for “academic enrichment” or “remedial services.” In addition, summer programs may include other services that should be recorded as such, i.e., college visit.

Educational Field Trips are services during which students leave their school or travel to another location, and include an academic component that is linked to classroom activities. Here are some examples:

• A science demonstration on a college campus (the purpose of the event was the science demonstration not a college visit).
• A class trip to attend a science or history museum linked to curriculum.
• Academic competitions.
• Cultural experiences such as performing arts, museums, or similar activities.
• Field trips that complement and enhance existing curriculum in key content areas.

Educational field trips should be recorded by subject area (Mathematics, English/Reading, Science, Cultural, etc.).

Student Workshops are services that include interactive informational classroom-level or large- or small-group sessions that involve hands-on experience for each student in the workshop.

• Workshops are offered to groups of students on topics like secondary school success and college awareness, and general elements of college readiness such as study skills, self-monitoring, goal-setting, time management, and problem-solving. This includes guest speakers that motivate students and high light careers.
• Workshops are informational in nature and are not intended to provide direct counseling or guidance to individual or small groups of students. Workshops should be recorded by subject area.

Virtual student workshops include services that are provided via remote access through the internet or other means.

Note: Data entry needs to indicate whether workshops are “in-person” or “virtual.”

Note: Report college and career fairs in this section.

Workshops of college prep/financial aid services include a parent/guardian or adult family member's attendance with or without their child(ren) at a workshop that demonstrates how to assist their student with college preparation or financial aid information.

These services include informational sessions for parents focusing on college entrance requirements and financial aid opportunities.

Virtual parent/family workshops include services that are provided via remote access through the internet or other means.

Note: Data entry needs to indicate whether workshops are “in-person” or “virtual.”

Counseling/advising services span a spectrum of activities that can include one-onone or small group advising for parents/guardians/adult family member designed to meet the specific needs of the individuals engaged in the activity.

These services include when a parent/guardian or adult family member meets with the GEAR UP school staff or counselor, with or without a student, to discuss student's academic goals, college plans, school progress, etc.

Counseling includes meeting with parents/guardians to discuss student's personal growth issues such as decision making, goal setting, behavior concerns, family issues, home visits, etc.

Advising provides individual assistance to parents/guardians on their student's college choices, college planning, financial aid planning, etc.

College visit services take place on college campuses. A physical visit to a college campus by a parent/guardian, with or without a student, facilitated/supervised/led by GEAR UP staff, teachers, college representatives, or other school staff.

The primary objective of the event would be to conduct a college visit. Should include an official tour, presentation(s) by admissions, academic departments, athletics, student affairs, residence life, multicultural affairs, or other college departments.

Virtual college visit services include services that are provided via remote access through the internet or other means. Virtual college visits must be facilitated/supervised/led by GEAR UP staff, teachers, or other school staff and include the same elements as a physical college visit.

Note: Data entry needs to indicate whether college visit services are “in-person” or “virtual,” as well as the name and/or type of college visited, i.e., 2- or 4-year college

Note: Indicate to which student a parent/guardian is related.

Family Events are services in which parents or families participate. These services involve USU STARS GEAR UP students and their families/guardians or just their parents/guardians. Family events include USU STARS GEAR UP activities that recognize the role of families in student success, and are not defined under a previous category.