Tulane University’s ConnecTU Summer Experience Program, a bridge program designed to help underprivileged and first-generation students assimilate to college, is set to return this summer after undergoing a “redesign,” according to Tulane spokesperson Mike Strecker.
Former participants and staff said they were surprised and disappointed when the program wasn’t run this past summer.
Junior Richie Stratz, a ConnecTU alumnus and former Wave Leader for the program, who facilitated student participation, said the program’s goal was to help prepare less-resourced students for college life.
“There are certain playing fields that people start from … and the idea [of ConnecTU] was to level that playing field from the beginning, because if you don’t level that at the front, then these students are going to work from behind the entirety of their college career,” Stratz said. “So giving them the resources that other students may have already had under their tool belt is the idea for the program.”
Stratz was planning to help lead the 2025 cohort of students and return to campus for training in June before participants arrived in July. But in May, leaders said they got the notification that the program was being discontinued. There was no indication that the program was being redesigned or that it would ever return.
Stratz said he felt left out of the decision-making process and surprised by the program’s apparent sudden cancellation. “First and foremost, it hurts. You know, it’s kind of something I and a lot of my friends have poured their heart and soul into … It tugs at the heartstrings, for sure,” Stratz said.
According to Stratz, in previous years, the program hosted 30 of Tulane’s eligible incoming first-years, who arrived on campus early to get a head start on their college careers. Participants lived on campus starting each July and took specially designed classes that counted for several general education credits.
Strecker said the goal of the program’s redesign is to better accommodate growing student interest in the program while making participation more feasible for students who cannot move on campus weeks early.
“This redesign, which is based on student feedback, is an effort to better align the program with student needs and increase participation,” Strecker said.
The redesigned program will include a new virtual component and a shorter on-campus portion. In past years, program participants spent six weeks on campus before classes started.
“We are committed to helping our increasing number of first-generation, limited-income students transition to Tulane in a way that meets their desires and needs,” Strecker said.
According to past participants, the program provided critical support to less-resourced students during their transition to the university.
“I had a rough go of my freshman semester and probably not having ConnecTU there, I would have felt alone [and] isolated … I think not having that as a freshman would have left a serious gap, not only in my education, but in my own personal development at Tulane,” Stratz said.
The program previously operated under the Center for Academic Equity, which has since been dissolved and moved under the Center for Academic Excellence and Opportunity, formerly the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. The EDI office — now the CAE — launched in 2017 to provide students of color, LGBTQ+, first-generation and low-income students the tools to succeed in a college environment.
Strecker said the revamped program will be overseen by the Office of Retention and Student Success.
Former program participant and Wave Leader Christen Clark didn’t know the program was set to return at all, but she said she was hopeful that it would because of how important it was to support Tulane’s first-generation and low-income students.
Clark said ConnecTU helped her make meaningful connections at Tulane, which was important for her college experience. “Because of ConnecTU, I was on track, and way ahead of the game, [ConnecTU] truly, honestly, has made my Tulane experience a joy,” Clark said.