Data Analysis Course
HHMI Support at Kenyon

Kenyon Educational Enrichment Program (KEEP)

The Kenyon Educational Enrichment Program (KEEP) organizes a variety of initiatives and programs aimed at admitting, enrolling, retaining, and graduating students from underrepresented populations at Kenyon into a coherent, coordinated, multi-year approach. Elements of KEEP target economically disadvantaged students, first-generation college students, and students of color from high school through their four years at Kenyon, providing the academic, intellectual, social, and economic support necessary to see these students through their entire academic journey. The KEEP program was developed out of the Kenyon Academic Partnership (KAP), Kenyon's longstanding outreach program to the high schools of Columbus, Cleveland, and Knox County.

Underrepresented students who enroll at Kenyon will be invited to participate in the on-campus elements of KEEP, building a community of support, encouragement, and accountability for themselves at Kenyon. Twelve rising first-year students are invited to undertake a six-week summer transition program, forming a nucleus for the KEEP group going into the first year. The summer transition program consists of two credit-bearing courses team-taught by experienced Kenyon faculty members. The first, the Silverweed Course in Expository Writing, focuses on close textual analysis, frequent writing assignments, and extensive personal feedback on writing, considering both technique and content issues. The second, the HHMI Course in Data Analysis, engages students in preparing, analyzing, and understanding numerical data using a variety of entry-level tools and techniques appropriate to introductory courses in the natural and social sciences at Kenyon. Taught in an intensive, three-week format using interactive lecture techniques in the morning sessions, supported by workshop-style reinforcement and practice in the afternoon sessions, the course hones students’ ability to apply mathematical techniques including graphing, numerical modeling, regression analysis, and statistics to present and analyze data from a wide range of contexts.

In addition to their coursework, summer KEEP students engage in internships with members of the faculty or administration, contributing to an on-going research project in a science lab, conducting bibliographic research for a project in the humanities or social sciences, or completing a project for a campus office. By engaging in research-related projects, these students begin to make connections to the many rich learning environments and opportunities that extend beyond the classroom at Kenyon. And, as has been demonstrated by a number of successful programs for retaining students of color in the sciences, early experience with research can strengthen a student’s desire to pursue a career in the sciences. (reference: various presentations during the HHMI-sponsored Symposium on Diversity in the Sciences, University of Lousiana – Monroe, April 2006)

Following the summer transition program, summer students continue to meet bi-monthly during the school year, hearing from student life and academic division administrators on topics such as course selection, making the transition to college, dealing with issues at home, developing effective study skills and time management. Upperclass students who have participated in the summer transition program often pair with newer KEEP students through the REACH mentorship program, building multi-year friendships and a support network for underrepresented minority and first-generation students. Through REACH activities (service projects, study sessions, tutoring, and social programs), the KEEP group expands, inviting all students of color and first-generation students to participate in group activities and mentor/mentee relationships, expanding and strengthening the peer mentor network to include students of many different majors, interests, and backgrounds. With budget support from Kenyon, the KEEP program during the year is expanding to provide more opportunities for such interactions, by funding mentoring activities, outside speakers and social programs, and a new series of campus visits by young alumni from underrepresented groups, who will speak about their experiences after graduation and serve as a new layer of KEEP mentors to students currently studying at Kenyon.

KEEP is a growing, active, and vital part of Kenyon’s plan to address diversity, access, and excellence in education for all students at Kenyon. The summer transition program is a critical piece of this initiative, providing a core group of students with valuable academic experience that will help them launch successfully into college work. Support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute has been invaluable in helping develop this transition program, both in terms of funding two years of the Data Analysis course and in providing the developers with opportunities to learn from the successful strategies of others through the Symposia on Diversity.