Advancing a lifetime of education
Creating Access to Education
Elon’s Center for Access and Success aims to help students from all backgrounds to have access to and succeed in higher education. It serves individuals in the surrounding communities from pre-K to adults through the following initiatives:
“It Takes a Village” Project
Launched 13 years ago, the “It Takes a Village” Project is a tutoring program for academically challenged elementary school students. Parents, Elon volunteers and local educators collaborate in weekly tutoring sessions, prioritizing academic improvement in 12 local schools.
Elon Academy
The Elon Academy is a free program that supports academically promising high school students in Alamance County. It offers summer residential experiences, Saturday programs and a Transitions to College Program. Graduates receive ongoing support through college.
Odyssey Program
The Odyssey Program is a merit-based program for incoming college students with demonstrated financial need. Students selected for the program are recipients of prestigious scholarships, a third of which give preference to students from Alamance County, Guilford County or North Carolina.
iBELONG Male Mentoring Program
iBELONG Male Mentoring provides mentorship to increase persistence, retention and graduation rates of first- and second-year minority male students on campus. It also connects students to relevant events and forums.
A Head Start on a College Education
Collegiate Start@Elon is a dual enrollment program designed to provide high school seniors with the opportunity to simultaneously enroll in both high school and college courses and receive dual high school and college credit. An average of 75 students participate in the program each year, which provides advanced academic options for high-achieving high school seniors in more than 40 courses. Students enrolled in Collegiate Start@Elon are eligible to take up to two college-level courses each fall and spring academic semester, earning up to 16 college credits before they graduate from high school. Collegiate Start students have access to all academic resources and student support services, including the library, writing/tutoring center, computer laboratories and an academic adviser.
A Pipeline for Local Educators
The Alamance Scholars Program, a partnership among Elon University, Alamance Community College and the Alamance-Burlington School System, was designed to address the shortage of teachers in local schools and to enhance the racial and ethnic diversity of educators in area classrooms. The initiative’s goal is to attract students with financial need from across a variety of backgrounds who desire to earn a degree in education and make an impact in their hometowns in Alamance County.
High school students begin as members of the ABSS Teacher Cadet Program and continue their studies to earn an associate degree at Alamance Community College in the Teacher Preparation Program. Following their high school and ACC graduations, students are eligible to enroll at Elon University with a pathway to graduate without debt. Students may pursue a bachelor’s degree in elementary, middle grades or secondary education with possible specialization in pre-kindergarten, special education or teaching English as a second language. Upon graduation from Elon, Alamance Scholars are guaranteed employment within the Alamance-Burlington School System.
A Commitment to Lifelong Learning
As the national leader in experiential and engaged learning, Elon University understands the value of meaningful education at all phases of life.
Elon NEXT: Professional & Continuing Education
Elon NEXT: Professional & Continuing Education extends the university’s teaching and research expertise to the public through innovative, flexible programming to meet the educational needs of the community.
Elon NEXT learners earn continuing education units through in-person and online learning modules in topics including cybersecurity, personal finance, data analytics, entrepreneurship, leadership, digital marketing and more. Courses are for anyone in the community looking for in-demand skills to differentiate themselves in the labor market, interested in advancing or changing their career, or simply valuing a life of learning.
Life@Elon
The Life@Elon program provides non-credit intellectual enrichment to people ages 50 and older. The lifelong learning community features weekly presentations on a variety of different topics, conducted in an engaging format. There are 12 weekly classes offered per semester (fall and spring) which are taught by current and retired Elon faculty and staff members, other area educators, and presenters chosen by Curriculum Committee volunteers.
Session topics have ranged from the modern history of Ukraine, the opioid crisis and the media’s role in shaping politics to the cathedrals of Europe, the music of Frank Sinatra and the art of storytelling. In addition to stimulating classes, Life@Elon participants have access to book clubs and special interest groups, domestic and international group travel, discounted and complimentary tickets to university events, borrowing privileges at Belk Library and more.
Additional Programs At a Glance
A New Generation of Educators
New to Elon, Teach for Alamance is a program that grants Elon Education graduates the opportunity to earn their master’s degree at Elon for free if they teach in Alamance County for two years a er graduation. The Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education had more than 340 students do practicums or student teaching in the Alamance-Burlington School System during the 2022-23 academic year.
Supporting Latinx Education
LatinxEd, a North Carolina-based educational and equity leadership organization, is hosted on Elon’s campus. LatinxEd was founded in 2018 by Elaine Utin and Ricky Hurtado, who both faced obstacles as they sought out higher education opportunities as high school students from Latinx immigrant families. The organization has developed initiatives that connect practice to policy and engage in systemic change to improve public education.
Change Agents
In partnership with the Teagle Foundation’s “Knowledge for Freedom” initiative, Freedom Scholars is a free initiative that supports local high school students from underserved populations who want to a end college and be difference makers. The program includes a two-week summer intensive residential experience with monthly programming throughout the year. During that time, Freedom Scholars work collaboratively with a civic-leader mentor and Elon student mentors.
Cultivating Young Leaders
The Alamance Youth Leadership Academy empowers local youth through civic engagement and leadership development with support from Elon’s Center for Leadership and the Alamance County Chamber of Commerce. The free two-year program exposes participating seventh and eighth graders to the power of leadership by honing skills such as communication, teamwork and problem-solving. AYLA connects students from numerous middle schools to foster local connections.
Adventures in STEM
Elon Explorers is a summer science enrichment program for middle school students. The week-long camp is designed to make science, technology, engineering and math education more interesting and accessible and to show students how rewarding and enlightening STEM research can be. Thanks to a grant from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, students also participate in year-round programming.
By the Numbers
Impact of Elon programs on Alamance County students