What does PLUS require of its students? The PLUS contract will require each program student to see a PLUS professional counselor three times, a PLUS Peer Counselor three times, and to attend a minimum of two PLUS Workshops during each quarter. Participation and utilization of services is closely monitored and students who fail to honor the PLUS contractual agreement are dropped the program and replaced with another eligible student.

Describe PLUS "counseling." Each PLUS student is assigned a professional counselor specifically trained to address the problems, concerns, and issues of low income, first generation students. The PLUS professional counselor provides not only the academic counseling necessary for understanding the academic policies and procedures, lower division and General Education requirements, and pre-requisites and requirements for specific majors, but also offers the personalized support necessary to facilitate the PLUS student's transition to the University and the development of the sense of belonging to the university community. The PLUS professional counselor is responsible for monitoring the student's academic, social, and personal adjustment to university life and for intervening and providing support, assistance, and guidance, as necessary.

How is PLUS counseling different from the others? Other counseling services do exist on campus. None of these other programs address the needs of low income and first generation students, and none have the ability to monitor students closely and provide intervention services as part of a strategic service delivery program because they have such large caseloads. Of the four other counseling units on campus, two serve specific populations--Honors and Athletics-- while Letters and Science and AAP Counselors have caseloads of approximately 800 students. PLUS, on the contrary, maintains a 1-100 student/counselor ratio. Therefore, PLUS can provide a carefully monitored, prescriptive intervention model of service delivery. Other counseling programs focus primarily on academic counseling and on problem or crisis management. These services, moreover, are provided only for students who seek assistance, while utilization of PLUS services is required as part of the student's contract. The PLUS counseling staff have full academic counseling authority. They can guarantee balanced course programs because they have access to the Registrar's data, preferential enrollment, and other valuable resources and will work with each individual student to devise a strategic academic plan that carries him or her through to graduation. These services are offered nowhere else at the university.

What is PLUS Peer Counseling? UCLA undergraduate students from low income, first generation backgrounds, who have already made the transition to the university and are working on their upper division coursework, serve as Peer Counselors (PC) and as part of the PLUS counseling team. Every PLUS student is assigned a PLUS Peer Counselor who will be responsible for mentoring the student, acts as a positive role model, and provides the student with academic, personal, and social support from a peer perspective. PLUS Peer Counselors also provide a student's perspective on course selection, educational goals and managing stress.
PLUS hires seven Peer Counselors each year. Each PLUS Professional Counselor is assigned three Peer Counselors and one PC is assigned to the PLUS Director. Six of the PLUS PCs each maintain a caseload of approximately 30-35 students. The seventh PLUS PC, assigned to the PLUS Director, and chosen by advanced standing and counseling experience, sees upper division PLUS students and any student experiencing academic difficulty.

What is PLUS Peer Tutoring? PLUS offers tutoring to PLUS students through its Humanities, Physical Science/Life Science and Social Science Labs. In collaboration with the AAP Tutorial Services, PLUS coordinates required tutorial support for all participating students. Tutors are hired during the Spring Quarter for duties that begin each Fall. Each tutor undergoes a rigorous and competitive hiring process to insure quality and compatibility with PLUS students. Many tutors are upper-division, continuing PLUS students.
Each student receives up to 4 hours per week of required content specific tutoring for each of his/her courses. Unlike tutoring services for the general university undergraduate population, which are voluntary, PLUS adjuncts available tutorial services to specific courses based on student needs and makes those services prescriptive and required. The PLUS Tutorial approach builds on the premise that critical thinking and intellectual independence are developed through questioning and dialog. Most tutoring takes place in small groups of three to five students. This fosters discussion and allows students to listen to, grapple with, and articulate new and different perspectives. It enables students to work collaboratively, to help one another, and to see that they can rely on their classmates as tutors. All composition courses are tutored on a one-to-one basis and focus on the individual's own expression and understanding. Organized study groups, consisting of PLUS students enrolled in the same course each quarter, are developed to create a network of peer support.

PLUS Workshops, what are those? Each quarter PLUS offers a variety of group workshops designed to assist the student in their ability to deal with and survive in the university environment. The PLUS Learning Skills Counselor and the PLUS Peer Counselors design, facilitate, and monitor attendance at these workshops which are designed to meet the specific needs of the students as assessed by the Intake Interviews completed by the PLUS professional counselors. Students are frequently reminded that workshop attendance is a condition of PLUS participation.
Specialty workshops are held each quarter. Workshops topics include: money management, choosing a major, commuting to UCLA, pursuing scholarships, stress management, and procrastination. PLUS students are required to attend specific workshops that fit their individualized needs, as mutually agreed upon by the student and the counselor. All workshops are designed to provide students with the necessary skills, knowledge, and strategies to flourish in the university environment. Workshops on computer skills, Internet and WEB Access, and Library Research Tools will be held several times and at several different campus locations during the first three weeks of the quarter. Other workshops are offered at random, appropriate times in each subsequent week of the quarter. Workshops are held in various campus locations and are also held frequently in conference rooms in the student dormitory buildings. Workshop schedules are posted in various dormitory and campus sites and are posted on this website. Frequent workshop reminders are included in PLUS student weekly E-mail.

The Career Center? The Career Center offers career planning and employment assistance free to all UCLA students. The Career Resource Center offers a collection of 20,000 career related books and directories, videos, periodicals, and other materials. The Career Center will also conduct workshops, seminars, and group meetings, adjacent from the PLUS offices, specifically for PLUS students.

Parent Programs, Huh? One family program, with the primary purpose of involving the family in the educational support network, is offered each quarter. The activities are held during the weekend in order to allow families working traditional hours to attend. The program focuses on providing the family members with an understanding and awareness of the academic demands that all undergraduates face, an overview of the process of postsecondary education and the degree-seeking mission their child has chosen, and a specific awareness of what their child is experiencing at UCLA. Programs specifically designed to involve families in the student's educational experience are unique to PLUS. No other university program currently has a parent program built into its retention based service delivery structure.

Are there any Cultural Programs? The Interim Report of the National Evaluation of Student Support Service Programs (NCEOA Journal, Spring, 1994) reported that of the many activities offered by SSS programs across the country, peer tutoring/counseling and cultural activities had the most impact on student achievement and retention. In addition to the strong counseling and peer counseling component, PLUS strongly encourages students to expose themselves to the vast assortment of cultural activities on campus and in the greater Los Angeles community. The opportunities to participate in extracurricular activities at UCLA are virtually unlimited. However many first generation, low income hesitate or often decline to participate. The reasons for their lack of participation are varied, ranging from racism, isolation, family and financial pressures, and general unfamiliarity with the campus culture. During intake interviews, students frequently express great unawareness of campus resources.
PLUS has developed relationships with various campus and community resources to expose students to rich, varied cultural activities and events. Some of these events include: free tickets to UCLA football and basketball games, visits to campus and community museums, art galleries, movies, plays, and dance performances. Students are encouraged by their Counselors to attend these events in small groups to develop a sense of confident competence; that they have the right and the privilege to attend these and similar events as a UCLA student.

What about the Internet/Electronic-mail? Each PLUS student is required, as a condition for continued participation, to attend a "Bruin-On-Line Workshop" to become trained in the efficient use of the powerful, UCLA electronic information highway. This workshop is facilitated by the College Information Services. Bruin On Line offers each student access to the World Wide Web, and other Internet activities. It also provide PLUS an immediate method of communicating with PLUS students, individually, by cohort, or as specially identified groups. It also permits each student to contact any PLUS Counselor or Peer Counselor at any time.

Is there a Graduate Mentor Program? The Graduate Mentor Program (GMP) is housed in Campbell Hall adjacent to the PLUS project offices and provides PLUS students with a variety of services that will enhance their access to professional and graduate education. GMP will arrange small workshops and presentations by UCLA faculty and successful graduate students. The presen>

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Is there a PLUS publication? That would be our Monthly PLUS Student Newsletter
The PLUS staff writes a monthly PLUS Student Newsletter that addresses a variety of academic and personal issues. Each month, the newsletter relays any changes in college academic policies that may affect students and provides updated information from departments in the College of Letters & Science. The newsletter will serve as a resource for students to obtain information on workshops and seminars designed to improve their academic achievement, develop skills for employment, and increase their personal growth. The newsletter also features information about cultural events, financial aid information and deadlines, the accomplishments of PLUS Staff, and highlight the outstanding achievements of PLUS students. Newsletters will be sent to the student through electronic mail, and are posted on the Website.