Executive summary the mission of southern arkansas university is to educate students for productive and fulfilling lives in a global environment by providing opportunities for intellectual growth,…

Executive summary the mission of southern arkansas university is to educate students for productive and fulfilling lives in a global environment by providing opportunities for intellectual growth, individual enrichment, skill development, and meaningful career preparation. The university believes in the worth of the individual and accepts its responsibility for developing in its students those values and competencies essential for effective citizenship in an ever-changing, free, and democratic society. Further, the university provides an environment conducive to excellence in teaching and learning, scholarship, creative endeavors, and service. Southern arkansas university (SAU) is a small, state supported, regional, liberal arts institution educating 3,835 undergraduate and 811 graduate students from 39 states and 41 countries. The university has experienced record freshmen classes for the past 6 years. The proposed vista project aligns most closely with the focus area ED11 (outcome) -- increase number of students earning a post-secondary degree. The SAU vista project will benefit several thousand students ages 6 through adult. Over a three year period, the SAU vista project will seek to meet the following goals: 1. Identify poverty-related barriers among current and future students; reduce barriers that prevent college completion. 2. Advise, coach, mentor, and shepherd students in landing their first job post-college. 3. Create more efficient processes for encouraging service among college students. 4. Inspire and actively encourage the next generation of students to pursue a college degree. Eight (8) vista members and twenty-two (22) vista summer associates will contribute to the goals of the project by performing activities over the course of three years, generally structured as: year 1 -- program learning, research, design, and pilot initiatives year 2 -- run full program initiatives; develop sustainability plan year 3 -- evaluate program effectiveness; initiate sustainability plan southern arkansas university is deeply committed to the success of the SAU vista project as a way of reducing poverty in our community and region. SAU will work in tandem with vista leadership, members, and summer associates, to establish, support, leverage resources for, and enable the vista team to complete their goals and the associated activities.