Middle School Campus Visit Project

The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) and the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) created the Commonwealth Convening on Access, a gathering of higher education representatives discussing middle and early high school best practices to increase high school graduation, college enrollment and degree attainment for underrepresented and underserved youth.

Based on research and suggestions shared at the Convening, SCHEV created the Middle School Campus Visit Project aimed to increase the presence of middle school students (grades 6-8) from low-income communities on college campuses.

The goal of the project is to create a model for early outreach through campus visits, reaching students earlier in their academic careers, increasing their awareness of postsecondary options, and growing their post-high school aspirations.

We invite colleagues from Virginia's 2- and 4-year institutions to submit a letter of intent to become a partner in this project. Award requests should be between $5,000 and $15,000. We estimate awarding 20 campus visits. Depending on the success of this year’s project , funding may be available for the 2024-2025 academic year.

The Letter of Intent should include the following (between 2 and 5 pages)

• Narrative including the campus visit description and activities planned for middle school students (and family members if invited)
• A timeline of the project
• Identification of target middle schools (50% or more FRPL), number of students that will be served, and sub-populations of students served, if relevant
• Current activities/engagement opportunities for middle school students on campus (if any)
• Line item budget
• The letter should be signed by an Authorized Representative or Designee

Keys to Success

• Visits can start in fall 2023 and may continue through spring of 2024 and/or over the summer but must conclude by June 30, 2024
• Activities may be overnight, on weekends or during weekdays
• Institutions are expected to cover all costs associated with the visit including transportation and meals through either Campus Visit Funding or in-kind/match (no cost for student)
• Institutions should include families in programming whenever possible
• All institutions will be required to implement some evaluation and data collection. One aim is to measure how the visits affect students’ post-high school aspirations
• All selected institutions must agree to meet a minimum of a dollar-for-dollar match consisting of cash match and/or in-kind to be submitted at the end of the performance period

Submission Instructions

• Letters of Intent are due by 5:00 PM on Thursday, September 14, 2023 for priority consideration, rolling thereafter
• An optional technical assistance webinar was held and recorded on August 24 at 11 am. The recording can be found here: https://youtu.be/hhKj7rX6umU
• Letters should be signed by an Authorized Representative or Designee and emailed to Erin McGrath, erinmcgrath@schev.edu