MCAS Advocates Program | February 2017

MCAS supports approximately 300 students across six full time employees, however there are close to 2,000 African American, Latino American, Native American (AALANA) students enrolled at RIT fulltime.  In order to reach a greater portion of the 2000 students, MCAS has developed a new initiative in collaboration with RIT’s colleges called The MCAS Advocates Program.  

MCAS Advocates and MCAS Student Representatives will work together to create new programs and outreach initiatives to increase community among AALANA students within their academic college.  They will play a critical role in helping MCAS engage and empower AALANA students to successfully graduate from RIT on time while closing the achievement gap.  This program increases the communication and collaboration between MCAS (and by extension the Division for Diversity and Inclusion) and RIT’s academic units. This program combines successful RIT AALANA students in collaboration with an advocate from the colleges (appointed by their respective deans).  Together they will be in positions to influence change in their colleges through programming and directed outreach initiatives.

MCAS as a center will still provide the same level of engagement and community that it has always provided with the addition of partnering within RIT’s academic units. Advocates with their student reps can program a meet and greet with their college dean, lead and model study groups and successful academic behavior, increase diversity of student groups within their colleges, program pre-accepted student open houses (similar to KGCOE’s program), etc...  All in congruency with MCAS and its programs, allowing MCAS to reach a greater portion of the AALANA community.

Program Objectives (for AALANA students):

• STRENGTHEN AND GROW COMMUNITY
• BUILD TRUST AND ADVOCACY
• INCREASE STUDENT PERSISTENCE
• CLOSE THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP