Summer Bridge Program Continues to Grow

A group of incoming students participating in the Summer Bridge program jumped right into the University tradition of painting the anchor near Bates House.

Students in the Summer Bridge program take in a New Britain Rock Cats baseball game.

In 2009, the University’s Summer Bridge program began with 20 incoming Hillyer College students who came to campus for one week during the summer to get a head start on college-level mathematics.

This year, Summer Bridge is bringing 190 incoming freshmen to campus for eight different week-long programs running over a four-week period in July and August. Participants include entering students from all seven of the University’s schools and colleges. And this year’s Summer Bridge program includes some new features, such as sessions on financial aid and college affordability for participating students and their parents.

“We had a waiting list this year, so we added an eighth session. Most of the sessions were filled within 72 hours of when they were announced,” said Hillyer College Dean David Goldenberg, director of the Summer Bridge program.

“Summer Bridge is about building relationships with other students, it’s about building relationships with faculty, and it’s about developing competencies in coursework that the students will have in the fall. So it really gives students a jump start on the transition to college,” Goldenberg said.

In fact, over the past four years, students who participated in Summer Bridge have made Dean’s List and President’s List at a higher rate than the student body at large, and they have had lower rates of academic probation and dropping classes, Goldenberg said.

Participating students come to campus for an intensive week that combines academic work; tips on study skills, note-taking, time management, and other college essentials; and fun activities, such as trips to New Britain Rock Cats games and shows at the Goodspeed Opera House.

This is the third year of a three-year, $300,000 grant from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving that has allowed the Summer Bridge program to significantly expand in recent years, with the goal of improving retention and academic success among first-year students. Under the terms of the grant, first priority is given to incoming students from Greater Hartford, and remaining spots are then offered to students from outside the Hartford area. The program is free of charge for participating students.

In addition to the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, funding for Summer Bridge also is provided by Travelers Insurance, Bank of America, The Hartford Insurance Group and the Women’s Education and Leadership Fund (WELFund).

This year, The Hartford Insurance Group is sponsoring workshops for all participating students and their parents on college affordability. The workshops include such topics as financial aid deadlines, annual requirements that students must meet in order to maintain their financial aid awards, the different kinds of student loans that are available, and online resources for finding a wide range of scholarships.

Also new this year are workshops for all participating students on sexual assault prevention and making smart choices as members of the campus community.

While many institutions have summer programs for incoming freshmen, the University of Hartford’s Summer Bridge program is unique in that select upper class students serve as both classroom mentors, or preceptors, and resident assistants (RAs) for the Summer Bridge participants, Goldenberg said. Having the same students serve as both preceptors and RAs provides continuity for the Summer Bridge participants, and allows them to get advice from their peers on how to succeed both in and outside the classroom.

“Nowhere in the country have I seen this melding of academics and student affairs in a Summer Bridge program,” Goldenberg said.

This year’s schedule of Summer Bridge programs is as follows:


July 14 – 19:

• Program for incoming biology majors in the College of Arts and Sciences

• Program for incoming A&S students who have not decided on a major


July 21 – 26:

• Program focusing on writing skills, for incoming students in all of the University’s schools and colleges

• Program for incoming psychology majors and communication majors in the College of Arts and Sciences


August 4 – 9:

• Program on women’s leadership development, supported by a grant from the Women’s Education and Leadership Fund (WELFund) – for incoming female students in all of the University’s schools and colleges

• Program for incoming Hillyer College students, focusing on writing skills


August 11 – 16:

• Program for incoming Hillyer College students, focusing on mathematics skills

• Program for incoming Hillyer College students, focusing on writing skills