Description

EOF Counselors have been legally recognized as a collective bargaining unit since 1989. They are part of the larger body of the Rutgers Council of AAUP-AFT chapters. Their AFT local union number is AFT 6323.

The term “counselor” includes all regular full-time counselors employed in the job titles EOF Senior Counselors and EOF Counselors, Special Programs.

Working conditions and benefits for EOF Counselors are covered by an Agreement (2007-2011) with the University that is separate from the Agreements for other employees represented by Rutgers AAUP-AFT.


The Role of EOF Counselors

Since 1989, Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) Counselors have comprised a unit of the Rutgers Council of AAUP Chapters. Yet there remains among faculty some uncertainty about what exactly EOF Counselors do at the University. This article provides an overview for those new to EOF and a refresher for those who have worked with us.

The NJ Educational Opportunity Fund, Then and Now

The Educational Opportunity Fund was created in 1968, as a result of the Lily Commission recommendations and bipartisan state legislation. (A sponsor of the act was former state Governor and Drew University President Thomas Kean.) EOF Programs have operated at Rutgers since 1970—interestingly, the same year Rutgers AAUP was founded. That this year is akin to ancient history in the minds of many undergraduates is a matter of concern for both faculty and EOF Counselors.

At Rutgers University, there are campus-based programs at Camden College of Arts and Sciences; SEBS (School of Environmental and Biological Sciences); Douglass Residential College; the Colleges of Engineering, Nursing and Pharmacy; Newark College of Arts and Sciences and SAS (School of Arts and Sciences), New Brunswick.

Each program seeks, in the words of the Undergraduate Admissions Office, “highly motivated students who exhibit the potential for success, but who come from economically and educationally disadvantaged families/ communities.” In common parlance, EOF students are low-income and to qualify for the program, students’ families must demonstrate financial need, as the following table demonstrates:

EOF Income Eligibility Scale 2008-09

Household size, with gross income not to exceed:
1 person: $20,420
2 people: $27,380
3 people: $34,340
4 people: $41,300
5 people: $48,260
6 people: $55,220
7 people: $62,180
8 people: $69,140
*add $6,960 for each additional member of the household

EOF students do not usually meet the most competitive entrance criteria for the University, even though they typically graduate from college preparatory programs and graduate in the top 20% of their class.

That is precisely why the enabling legislation mandates that EOF programs offer not just financial assistance, but also academic support, educational counseling and leadership training. EOF Counselors assist students in their transition from high school to college—from environments in which their skills make them top performers to an environment in which they may have to complete remedial pre-requisites and, in any case, they must persist and develop to meet their educational goals. EOF students must meet the same exit criteria as all other students to earn a degree, and tens of thousands have done so at Rutgers University.

Prevailing Myths

A common misperception is that EOF students have a low graduation rate. This is not true. In fact, our graduation rate is on par with that of the non-EOF population. We cannot overemphasize that many EOF students are among the alumni of Rutgers University. Among those alumni are physicians, scientists, dentists, chiropractors, teachers, researchers, attorneys, physical therapists, consultants, politicians, engineers, pharmacists and a few CEOs. Most graduates would not have been afforded the opportunity to demonstrate their potential had it not been for the EOF Program.

Another common misperception is that EOF is a race-based program. Perhaps this is because most EOF students are residents of poorly performing New Jersey school distircts (formerly called Abbott Districts), where the majority of students are also from US ethnic minority groups. In truth, EOF is one of the more broad-based educational access programs precisely because its criteria are “race-blind.” Nonetheless, EOF proudly claims its roots in the Civil Rights Movement. For decades, EOF Programs have contributed greatly to the diversity of the Rutgers student body.

Yes, But What Do You Do?

All EOF Counselors serve as academic advisors, career counselors and mentors for the students in their programs. Among many other things, we:

• Work directly with students on team building, personal and career development, leadership skills, time and task management, and graduate/professional school preparation
• Consult with faculty when necessary on student’s performance
• Serve as advocates for scholastic standing and judicial reviews
• Teach developmental courses
• Advise student organizations
• Conduct orientation programs

At commencement time, we invite you to consider that what you witness is the result of the combined efforts of individual students, faculty and an EOF Counselor (or two or three) that have a vested interest in the success of the students in our program.

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