Compass Program

SUNY Geneseo's reputation for academic excellence is no accident. Our faculty challenge our students to grow and think in new ways; to understand new and complex concepts and to perform at their personal best. We know from past experience, however that some students will struggle through their first semester, earning grades much lower than what they or their families expect of them. Still others will be academically successful but struggle to make themselves feel at home in this new environment. The primary goal of COMPASS is to create a system of support for general admit students of African, Latino, Asian or Native American descent or ALANA students.

Three distinct levels of support are intended to minimize struggles so that students can achieve early success in their college careers. COMPASS pairs first-year students - Protégés with upper-class students - Peer Mentors who remember what it was like that first year. Protégés also receive a Fellow - a faculty or staff mentor who knows Geneseo from the inside out. Protégés also enroll in a biweekly College Success Seminar taught by the Peer Mentors. Tutoring support to COMPASS Protégés imay also be available. Together, these supports will assist Protégés in navigating a course (pun intended) to both academic and personal success here at Geneseo.