Academic Year & Summer Components

Academic Year

The academic year component begins in September of each academic with tutoring, meetings with Upward Bound (UB) staff, educational and cultural activities, and Saturday workshops.

Purpose

  • Tutorial services are designed to meet each student’s academic challenges by providing two-hour sessions of specialized tutoring help in difficult academic areas. In some tutoring settings, small group tutoring may be provided.
  • Tutorials are also a time for enrichment in SAT, ACT, ACCUPLACER test preparation, college application, scholarships, and writing & study skill workshops.
  • Tutorials are required for all UB students.
    • New and freshmen students are required to attend three (3) hours per week.
    • Sophomore, juniors, and seniors are required to attend two (2) hours per week
  • Tutorials hours may increase for students who are on probation (GPA below 3.0).

Expectations

Students are expected to come to Tutoring with their textbooks and other materials needed, ready to receive assistance.

  • Johnson High School: Annex Computer Lab and/or Redwine United Methodist Church (3285 Poplar Springs Rd, Gainesville, GA 30507)
    • Students must sign-in by 3:45 p.m. unless approved by the UB Counselor in advance.
  • Gilmer High School: Gilmer High School Rm. 1102
    • Students must sign-in by 3:00 p.m. unless approved by the UB Counselor in advance.

Note: Any student must meet with the UB Counselor before they can be excused from attending tutorials. Active participation is vital to your success in Upward Bound. Students who do not meet the attendance requirements will be excluded from the field trips and attendance incentives.

Summer Component

The Upward Bound Summer Institute (UBSI) is a rigorous instructional component designed to provide students with a simulated college experience. It is six (6) weeks in length and traditionally includes a 3-week residential component on the UNG Gainesville and Dahlonega campuses.

Traditional Residential Component 

All invited students are required to participate in the six-week UBSI. Students’ summer classes will include math, science, english, foreign language, and STEM curriculum.

  • Classes are between 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. on Monday through Thursday.
  • Experiential learning activities are held on Friday of each week during the Upward Bound Summer Institute.

Virtual Experience

Over the past few months, traditional approaches to secondary and postsecondary teaching and learning have moved from the classroom to web-enhanced platforms. Given this best practice related to social distancing, the UBSI may provide a virtual experience similar using technologies and platforms college students across the nation use daily. UBSI scholars may participate in synchronous courses utilizing the Desire2Learn (D2L) platform.