Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF)

Why Choose Mercer?

There are many advantages to choosing Mercer County Community College:

• Mercer is close to home.
• Mercer is less expensive than other colleges.
• At Mercer, students come first. Classes are small; you'll get clear answers to all of your questions.
• In your first year of study you'll find many opportunitites to get involved in student clubs and organizations. These opportunities for leadership and socilization will help you in your transfer to a four-year college or in your career.

Services

What is EOF?

EOF (The Educational Opportunity Fund) is a comprehensive program committed to fostering the academic and social development of students. EOF develops and implements programs, activities, and practices that promote student success such as the First-Year Experience (FYE) programs which includes Entering Student Assessment, Peer Mentoring, and the Pre-Freshman Summer Academy. EOF assists eligible low-income New Jersey residents to attend college, assists participants in developing attitudes, skills, and abilities that enable them to achieve their educational goals. We believe that going to college is not just about earning a degree, but about evolving into a well-informed and well-rounded individual. We seek students who understand that with education comes great responsibility to our communities, our world, and ourselves.

EOF set the pace for many initiatives which today are widely incorporated into college life. Among the many powerful strategies implemented by EOF are pre-college articulation, basic skills testing and remediation, systematic retention efforts, peer counseling and peer tutoring, academic support courses, multicultural curricula and human relations programming, student leadership development, and outcomes-based program evaluation.

Educational Opportunity Fund

The Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) is one of the nation's most comprehensive and successful state-supported efforts to provide access to higher education for economically and educationally disadvantaged students. The EOF assists low-income residents who are capable and motivated but lack adequate preparation for college study. he mission of Mercer's EOF program is to recruit students who, despite a background of historical poverty and poor academic preparation, exhibit the potential, motivation and desire to excel in a challenging and supportive educational environment. EOF will help those students develop skills and abilities that prepare them to persist toward associate degrees and/or certificate and to continue on to achieve their academic, personal, and career goals. Moreover, EOF will encourage and help students to become leaders on campus and in their communities and to join the workforce as capable, productive citizens who contribute to our culturally diverse and technological world.

EOF & You

EOF professionals assist students with developing educational plans that are compatible with their life goals; they advise students on how best to adjust to the academic and social demands likely to be countered while attending college. While the primary emphasis is on the development of students' intellectual skills and habits, efforts are also made to increase confidece, develop social skills and broaden horizons. The EOF community fully engages scholars in curricular and co-curricular experiences ultimately producing active alumni dedicated to lifelong learning and global citizenship.