Sac State’s College Assistance Migrant Program received a five-year, .11-million federal grant in July.
CAMP is a U.S. Department of Education program that provides academic, financial and personal support services to students from migrant and seasonal farmworker backgrounds who attend institutions of higher education.
The grant will be used to provide outreach, admission and retention services, says Viridiana Diaz, CAMP director.
“CAMP offers pre-college transition and first-year support services to help students develop the necessary skills to stay in school and successfully graduate from college,” she says. ”The program also provides supplemental financial assistance for books, supplies and transportation to eligible students.”
The program admits 80 freshmen every year and provides follow-up services to approximately 300 continuing students.
Sacramento State’s CAMP program was created in 1981 and is the second-longest continuously running CAMP project in the nation, says Diaz. It is only one of eight CAMP programs in the state.
CAMP funding is awarded in five-year cycles through a competitive process. Only 12 of about 40 projects that applied were funded this year, Diaz says. Sacramento State’s CAMP program will receive $422,000 a year through 2014.