Mentoring and Persistence to Success (MAPS)

Academic Success Program

Western Carolina University offers the Academic Success Program (ASP) as an opportunity for students to begin their college experience early and to prepare them for success in college and beyond. This program is designed to provide a full year of support to facilitate a successful first-year experience and to help student develop skills to excel in their college career.  It helps motivate them to set higher goals in school and in life and holds them accountable for demonstrating attitudes and behaviors that coincide with reaching their goals.

ASP is a conditional admission program in that students who are invited to participate MUST successfully complete a 5-week intensive summer program. Students are enrolled in to seven credit hours of courses, all of which count toward graduation, and participate academic, social, and transitional support events, workshops, and seminars. The highly structured learning community environment is designed to guide and support students as they prepare for and transition in to their first college experience.

For more information about the Academic Success Program, please visit the ASP website or contact our office at 828.227.7171 or maps@wcu.edu.

Catamount Gap

So now that you've been accepted to WCU, why wait for fall? Get a head start on your college career by participating in Catamount Gap! Students who qualify for financial aid can use their previous-year aid package during the summer and complete 6-8 credit hours over 5 weeks. Bridge the gap from high school to college life in an active investigation of how your academic, social, and personal success development are intertwined. The program runs roughly from the end of June through July and provides students the opportunity to develop a network of faculty, staff, high-achieving upperclassmen, and peers in an inclusive learning community environment.

To learn more, visit CatamountGap.wcu.edu

Student Organizations

In order to help our students develop community, the MAPS office supports two student organizations:

The Resilient Independent Student Association
The Resilient Independent Student Association (RISA) was established to serve and to support students that are former foster youth, former orphans, emancipated youth, homeless youth, as well as other non-traditional students. RISA strives to support, encourage, and uplift members of our organization and our community in order to foster an attitude of success and achievement, as well as to involve students in outreach, awareness, and advocacy. For more information, visit the RISA web page or contact maps@wcu.edu.

The First Gen Club
The First Gen Club helps build a community of students and supports the transition of first-generation students to WCU. The club hosts regular meetings, social events, and educational activities throughout the year in order to connect students with each other and provide information about resources and topics of interest. All first-generation students are welcome to join and attend! For more information, contact maps@wcu.edu.

Family/Student Supporter Information

We are committed to supporting our students as holistically as possible, including support via their family or support structure outside of the university! We keep a Family page updated with information for our students, with relevant information, tips, and resources! We also distribute a monthly newsletter with helpful tips about what your student might be experiencing this month. Please email maps@wcu.edu in order to be added to our mailing list!

HOMEBASE

WCU has partnered with Baptist Children's Home to open HOMEBASE! HOMEBASE is used for RISA programming as well as other student outreach services. It is located to the right of the Cullowhee Baptist Church parking lot across from Tuck's. Please visit https://www.homebasewcu.org/ for more information!