Several CAP teams took their grant money and created services for women on their campus. The following examples illustrate these kinds of services.
Empowering Moms, Empowering Minds: Single Moms and College Success by Shenandoah University, 2009
In addition to organizing and holding various community programs to inform single mothers about four year college degree programs, rewards and benefits of pursuing a degree, and how to overcome some of the barriers they face to achieving a degree, the single mother members of Shenandoah University's CAP team ended up forming a support group on campus for single mothers.
Prior to each student’s involvement with the CAP team, most of them felt isolated on campus and unsupported, but through working on the project they formed a tight-knit support group and are looking out for all single mother students on their campus. Their activism on campus led to the conversion of one of the campus bathrooms into a family bathroom, complete with a changing table. The team also created and maintains a website and blog (www.mindsandmoms.com) filled with information relevant to single mothers considering higher education. Starting in 2009-10, their website will be included in the list of resources in admissions packages at their University.
Graduate Women's Closet by University of Mississippi, 2007
Many women graduate students need a suit for a job interview or to attend a conference but cannot afford one, so the CAP team at the University of Mississippi created a Graduate Women's Closet service on campus to meet this need. To stock the Closet with suits, the CAP team held a very successful clothing drive in February 2007 and continued to receive donations from students, faculty, and community members throughout the semester. The Closet opened in April 2007 and operates like a library: graduate students can borrow a suit for a specific event and then return it for someone else to use. The Closet is open a few hours each week and is staffed by members of the Graduate Women's Group. To rent a suit, a student simply needs to bring a student ID and a $5 deposit. Read more about the service on the Graduate Women's Group website.
Nontraditional Student Mentoring Center by Tennessee Technological University, 2007
Many nontraditional students attend Tennessee Technology University. Nontraditional students are typically female, older than 25 years, and have family and/or work responsibilities to juggle while attending school. There were no specific resources on campus for these students, so the Tennessee Technological University CAP team created a Nontraditional Student Mentoring Center to fill this need. The Center was designed to facilitate a successful college experience for current and future nontraditional female students through a variety of programs. For example, they provide direct one-on-one guidance and support, important information and resources, and workshops on a variety of topics. Through the efforts of the CAP team, the university created an unofficial nontraditional student handbook.
To culminate their projects focused on nontraditional students, the CAP team held a Transitions Conference to inform prospective nontraditional students about the university, how to become a student, and how to balance their family and/or work obligations with their education. The Conference attracted 35 potential nontraditional female students and directly resulted in several enrollments.
Campus Action Project Models
Campus Action Projects
