Plano, Texas, December 30, 2009 — As part of the development of its Suder Scholars Program, the Suder Foundation (TSF) has entered into an agreement with C-Sync, LLC, an innovative, education-based company, to use its Student Strengths Inventory© (SSI) in TSF’s scholarship applicant selection process.
The SSI is an evidence-based assessment platform for predicting post-secondary student outcomes. The tool measures six factors that have been demonstrated to be the strongest predictors of both student retention and persistence in college:
In addition, potential Suder Scholars will be assessed on their receptivity to support services. Based on the scale scores and two risk indices, at-risk students are identified and individualized interventions are recommended.
“The power of our Student Strengths Inventory is in its power to measure essential non-cognitive skills in addition to cognitive ones,” said Gabriela Paredes, C-Sync’s Vice President of Marketing. “By including both, not only can we enhance each student’s learning experience, but it also may lead to better academic and career outcomes.”
The Suder Foundation is preparing to launch the Suder Scholars Program at two large public four-year universities in August, 2010. The Program’s combination of scholarships and support services for those selected is designed to promote academic success and persistence of first-generation college students. “Utilizing the SSI in our selection process will allow us to identify first-generation students who would most benefit from the holistic support our program model provides,” said Eric Suder, President of the Suder Foundation. “We intend to build an evidence-based program to assist first-generation students, and the SSI provides our affiliated universities with the results needed to create an individualized success plan for each student as he or she is accepted into the program.”
C-Sync, LLC is an education-based company whose mission is to ensure that every college-bound student experiences a smooth transition from high school to college and beyond. C-Sync is a new entity under the College Students Network family of companies. Its founders are pioneers in the education finance space and have over three decades of experience in helping students to achieve their higher-education goals. C-Sync’s Student Strengths Inventory is an innovative product to assist college-bound students in reaching their optimum potential.
For more information about C-Sync, LLC, visit www.c-sync.com.
The Suder Foundation partners with selected public universities to provide seed funding for a holistic support program for students who are first in their family to attend college. In addition to multi-year scholarships, students selected as Scholars will participate in mentoring, tutoring, and campus and community engagement opportunities designed to increase their retention and, ultimately, graduation from college. Established in 2008, the Suder Foundation is a private foundation with headquarters in Plano, Texas.
For more information about the Suder Foundation and its Scholars program, visit www.firstscholars.org.
© 2012 The Suder Foundation • 3701 E. Plano Parkway, Plano, TX 75074 (469) 429-2200 info@suderfoundation.org • Affiliates’ log-in
