The MESA (Math, Engineering, Science Achievement) study, funded by the United States Department of Education, analyzed and defined the parameters of effective college outreach programs. At present there is the expectation that academic outreach programs will change the educational opportunity structure in this country but no consensus on what makes a program effective. This study outlined and evaluated nine propositions pertaining to successful academic enrichment and aimed to develop a scorecard that can be used to assess the success and cost effectiveness of such programs.

Data were published in the monographs, Creating Helping Environments for College-Going: The CHEPA CHEC-List for College Counselors, and Preparing for College: Building Expectations, Changing Realities.

Additional data and essays related to the MESA study were published in Preparing for College: Nine Elements of Effective Outreach (2004, SUNY Press).

For more information on this study, please contact Zoë Corwin or William G. Tierney at: