State-Wide View

Since 1968 over 30,000 students have earned college degrees with the support of the Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) Program. Although they lacked the financial resources to attend college, and while there were gaps in their educational preparation prior to college entrance, the programs' financial assistance and services helped them to succeed. Student participation in the EOF Program's specialized services such as basic skill instruction, counseling and advisement, tutorial services, and career development activities were and continue to be the cornerstones to promoting student success.

Today, over 13,000 EOF students attend colleges and universities across the state of New Jersey. They represent a diversity of races and backgrounds. Currently, EOF sponsors over a third of all African American and Hispanic full-time undergraduates enrolled in our New Jersey state colleges and universities, and a quarter of those enrolled at county colleges.

Education, Earnings, and Decent Jobs

As the amount of required occupational preperation increases in Job Zones 1 through 5, the levels of education and income of the workers who hold those jobs also steadily rise. Only 7 percent of the employees in Zone 1 jobs have a bachelor's degree, compared with 77 percent in Zone 5. Annual incomes for workers in the top zone are also more than 4.5 times those found in the lowest zone.

Zone 1

 Zone 2

Zone 3

Zone 4 

 Zone 5

 Program Mission

The mission of the Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) Program is to provide highly motivated students who exhibit the potential for success, but who come from families/ communities disadvantaged by low income and a lack of quality educational preparation necessary to attend college, access to a four year college degree. The EOF program provides such students full-time admission to Ramapo College, and the support needed to maintain continued enrollment through graduation. This support includes grants and scholarships minimizing the financial burden of college attendance, and services designed to foster academic success, promote social responsibility, and involve students in connecting their education to the world of work and or graduate study.

Goals and Services 
The Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education's (CAS) standards and guidelines for Educational Opportunity Programs describes what opportunity programs must do to accomplish their missions. We have adopted these goals and strive to provide programs, services, and activities that enable these goals to be met. These goals are to:

• Serve as an advocate for access to higher education
• Provide services to assist individuals to achieve their educational goals
• Facilitate the educational development of individuals served
• Provide an environment that recognizes the diversity of backgrounds and learning styles of individuals served
• Develop collaborative relationships with institutions, organizations, and communities to promote an environment conductive to the completion of a post-secondary education

We define ourselves as a comprehensive developmental education program whose role is to place the student at the center of the learning experience. We look at students as total human beings, value what they bring with them, and in partnership with the wider institution, assist them with pursuing their academic, career, and personal development. Our role, guided by the National Association of Developmental Educators description of what developmental education programs do, is to "address academic preparedness, diagnostic assessment and placement, development of general and discipline-specific learning strategies, and affective barriers to learning." With the support of numerous other college units we are able to provide students varied forms of learning assistance, such as tutoring, mentoring, supplemental instruction, personal and career counseling, academic advisement, and coursework.

Key Programs, Services, and Activities

Student applicants, parents, guidance personnel, and others should know that our EOF Program is an integral part of the college community at Ramapo. We are highly respected, and in a number of ways exceptional in what we have to offer students, and in what our students are able to contribute to the quality of life at Ramapo. Opportunities for promoting the learning and development of our students, and in turn their success, are evidenced by an assortment of programs, services, and activities.

• State EOF grants and institutional scholarships are awarded for the freshmen through senior years and and are based on financial need and academic merit.
• Summer and winter session funding for the completion of on-campus course offerings, study abroad, or domestic or international cooperative education programs
• Cost-free participation in our summer bridge program for new freshmen with the ability to reside on campus and earn college credits prior to the start of the school year while becoming familiar with campus life
• Coverage of Educational Fees including, but not limited to, licensure exams, professional association dues, language proficiency exams, graduate school applications-test prep courses-admission exams, and career development activities.
• A personal EOF counselor - an advocate during a students’ entire college stay whose guidance and support helps students to meet their academic, career, financial and personal goals
• Learning support courses including college-credited study skill courses, small classes, accessible professors, and cost-free individual tutoring and peer led group study sessions
• Career planning courses and programs designed to engage students in the exploration of their interests and their relationship to majors and occupational choices; mentoring for students seeking professional development opportunities; and educational programming addressing work-readiness and career life issues
• Student recognition events celebrating academic and campus leadership contributions, social/cultural programming fostering a sense of community, and the opportunity to participate in service projects/advocacy campaigns targeting social issues/problems