Early Intervention Programs. Opening the Door to Higher Education. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report Vol. 25, No. 6

This report addresses issues related to the increasing growth of early intervention programs to encourage high school graduation and college attendance among students from low-income and minority groups. It first presents a brief review of the societal goals of equality for the nation's education system. It then defines the programs "early intervention" and "academic outreach" and synthesizes the demographic and educational problems and challenges related to development of such programs. It continues by describing several notable examples of private initiatives, such as the "I Have a Dream Program." Next, an overview of the burgeoning field of school-college collaborative efforts for early intervention and academic outreach is provided, followed by a survey of federal and state efforts. College and university academic outreach programs are examined from several perspectives, and include an overview of community colleges' involvement in school-college collaboration. The report concludes with evaluations of some early intervention programs and recommendations for follow-up by college and university administrators. An appendix provides brief descriptions of 27 institutional outreach programs. (Contains approximately 130 references.) (DB)