by Lesley Bell
Daily Lobo
Demian Baum would still be a college dropout if it wasn't for a graduation program at UNM.
Baum said he was 33 years old and thinking about going back to school when he first heard about Graduation Project, an organization that helps college dropouts get back into school and graduate.
"It was just a thought," he said. "After learning about the project (and) learning about the support, it turned from a thought into a reality."
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Baum, 36, graduated from UNM with a degree in university studies in May.
"I think it was absolutely (the Graduation Project that) made it possible," he said.
The project applies to people who left UNM with at least 98 credit hours and a 2.0 GPA, said Vanessa Shields, project coordinator.
"This program was designed to bring students who left UNM back to school," Shields said. "I want them to get their
degrees."
The Graduation Project
began in 1996 and has helped about 1,500 students graduate, Shields said.
It started when UNM conducted a study to see why students were not graduating.
The top three reasons were problems with tuition, problems with advisement and inability to get into classes needed for graduation, according to the survey.
Students are assisted with financial aid, advisement and given priority enrollment in classes needed to graduate.
The project is the only program of its kind in the nation, according to its Web site.
"UNM has been an innovator in an area that's kind of overlooked," Baum said.
When the project began, it went against the notion that students dropped out only for academic reasons, said Wynn Goering, associate provost for academic affairs.
Each semester, the Registrar's Office prints a list of qualified students who have not been at UNM for at least one semester.
The Graduation Project's staff contacts the former students.
Some students don't know all the steps they have to take to graduate, Shields said.
"We will find students who didn't even know that they didn't graduate," Goering said.
About 80 percent of students in the Graduation Project have jobs, Goering said.
Goering said the project is more personal with students than other offices and departments at UNM.
"Our program promises them that someone will know their name," she said.
Baum said the program is unique.
"There's so much in place for freshman retention, but there's really nothing to retain seniors, or make sure that seniors will make it that one last step," he said. "If I can ever give back to this program, I'm going to."
Anyone who's thinking of going back to school should check out the program, Baum said.
"There's a couple perks about going back to school as a senior under the project. You don't have to go through the admissions process," he said. "You're basically on a fast-track to graduation. You're given priority
enrollment."
For more information about the project, go to
Unm.edu/~thegrad
