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Cited by 40Higher Education Research StudiesEducation and Military IntegrationMathematics Education and Programs

A review of some diverse models of summer-bridge programs for first-generation and at-risk college students

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Odeleye, Beverlyn-Grace, Santiago, Jessica·2019·Administrative Issues Journal Education Practice and Research
DOI 10.5929/9.1.2
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Abstract

Many colleges are pursuing innovative alternative approaches for the development of education that aims to accelerate students’ progress in gaining important academic competencies. Summer bridge programs are one such approach. These bridge programs offer underprepared and at-risk students the opportunity to advance toward college-level coursework during the summer before their freshman year. These summer bridge programs have grown increasingly popular, as a strategy for providing students with the foundational college courses, knowledge and skills required for college success. Many integrated programmatic approaches and resources have been developed to address this issue, including general education freshman courses in reading, writing, peer counseling programs, and upperclassmen and faculty mentoring programs providing students with academic preparation and social support. This review examines recent research on bridge program conduct with four selected summer bridge programs from diverse public, open access universities in large urban and non-urban areas with diverse backgrounds, experience, and socio-economic status of students. This review concludes with conflicting evidence of the effectiveness of summer bridge programs in student retention, self-efficacy, academic improvements, and persistence. It offers recommendations for successful academic practices and suggestions on current and potential evaluation methods for use in future assessments of bridge programs as a continual programmatic revision to meet the needs of the participating students.

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  • Many institutions that offer STEM programs have implemented Summer Bridge Programs (SBPs) to address challenges in higher education.

    “Many institutions that offer STEM programs have implemented Summer Bridge Programs (SBPs) to address these challenges in the context of higher education (Odeleye & Santiago, 2019).”

    From Methodological Choices When Assessing Summer Bridge Programs in STEM Majors: A Scoping Review (2026) · cites this paper as Odeleye & Santiago, 2019

    The Abstract says many colleges use summer bridge programs to help underprepared and at-risk students prepare for college, supporting the general claim about addressing higher-education challenges. The review also describes a program at a technical university, but it does not establish that many institutions offering STEM programs have implemented SBPs; that STEM-specific scope is unsupported. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Findings on the effectiveness of SBPs are mixed and often inconclusive, making it difficult to evaluate their overall effectiveness.

    “However, findings on the effectiveness of SBPs are mixed and often inconclusive (Calcagno & Long, 2009;Odeleye & Santiago, 2019), making it difficult to evaluate their overall effectiveness.”

    From Methodological Choices When Assessing Summer Bridge Programs in STEM Majors: A Scoping Review (2026) · cites this paper as Odeleye & Santiago, 2019

    The Discussion says methodological flaws, including inadequate comparison groups and limited quantitative outcomes, make it difficult to determine whether summer bridge programs caused improvements. It does not characterize findings as mixed; instead, it describes a large body of evidence reporting positive outcomes. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • These results provide limited evidence supporting a causal interpretation of SBPs' impacts on academic performance.

    “As research implications, these results provide limited evidence supporting a causal interpretation of SBPs' impacts on academic performance (Loeb et al., 2017;Odeleye & Santiago, 2019;Baron, 2004;Thompson, 2006).”

    From Methodological Choices When Assessing Summer Bridge Programs in STEM Majors: A Scoping Review (2026) · cites this paper as Odeleye & Santiago, 2019

    The Discussion reports evidence that summer bridge programs improve academic readiness, but it also says many studies lack matched control groups, making it impossible to determine whether the programs truly affected academic performance. The review supports caution about causal claims, not the assertion that its findings establish even limited causal evidence. (LLM, conf=0.82)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Lack of evidence could lead to erroneous conclusions due to inadequate comparisons.

    “Finally, this lack of evidence could lead to erroneous conclusions due to inadequate comparisons (Slavin, 2020;Odeleye & Santiago, 2019;Baron, 2004).”

    From Methodological Choices When Assessing Summer Bridge Programs in STEM Majors: A Scoping Review (2026) · cites this paper as Odeleye & Santiago, 2019

  • Odeleye and Santiago (2019) highlighted the need for research that focuses on longitudinal and quantitative assessments of SBPs and compares participants' outcomes with those of a control group.

    “For example, Odeleye and Santiago (2019) highlighted the need for research that focuses on longitudinal and quantitative assessments of SBPs and compares participants' outcomes with those of a control group.”

    From Methodological Choices When Assessing Summer Bridge Programs in STEM Majors: A Scoping Review (2026) · cites this paper as Odeleye and Santiago (2019)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Odeleye, B.-G., & Santiago, J.
Affiliations
East Stroudsburg University (US)
Venue
Administrative Issues Journal Education Practice and Research
Publisher
Administrative Issues Journal: Education, Practice and Research
Published
2019
Volume
9
Issue
1
ISSN
2153-7615 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.5929/9.1.2
OpenAlex
W2955953082
Cited by
40
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 2
FWCI
6.27
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
other-oa
Locations
Administrative Issues Journal Education Practice and Research (publishedVersion, other-oa)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Education › Higher Education Research Studies
  • Social Sciences › Education › Education and Military Integration
  • Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Modeling and Simulation › Mathematics Education and Programs
Keywords
summer bridge programs, first-generation college students, at-risk students, underprepared students, student retention, academic self-efficacy, student achievement improvement, student persistence, peer counseling, faculty mentoring, program evaluation, college readiness

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