The goal of attending college is closer for a number of prospective Georgia Perimeter College students who participated in the Compass Academic Review and Enrichment (C.A.R.E.) Program Math Academy this spring.  The academy—sponsored through a $1 million gift from the Betty and Davis Fitzgerald Foundation—enrolled 72 participants who had fallen shy of passing the math portion of the Compass entrance exam.

After eight weeks of one-on-one, intensive math instruction and tutoring on the Clarkston, Decatur and Dunwoody campuses, the potential students had the opportunity to re-take the Compass and gain admission to GPC. Of the 59 participants re-testing, well over half—63 percent—passed.

“Most of the students that completed the spring math academy and then passed the Compass, will enroll for the fall,” says Marian Adomakoh, Advising, Counseling and Retention Services, Clarkston.

A post survey revealed that all of the participants rated their math skills as ‘weak’ or ‘very weak’ upon beginning the tutoring and instruction program, while the vast majority described their math skills as ‘good’ or ‘very good’ after participating in the eight-week academy.

According to one participant: “It helped me get a basic understanding of college math in a short time.”

“We’re so pleased with the program’s effectiveness, given students’ reported rate of improvement in their math skills,” Adomakoh says. “While all the participants rated their math skills as weak prior to the academy, 80 percent stated their skills improved as a result of attending the spring Math Academy.”