In 1996, the Retention Committee of the Educational Opportunity Program's Community Advisory Board conducted a study on sophomores' educational habits and achievements. The study indicated that sophomores were more likely to withdraw from their classes; to achieve low grade point averages for both the semester and the full academic year; to be placed on probation; or to be suspended from the university. They were less likely to receive Dean's List status; to be selected for Who's Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities; and to assume leadership positions in mainstream campus clubs and organizations. Because of the findings of this study, the Educational Learning Assistant (ELA) Program was designed to increase the retention and academic success of sophomores enrolled in the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) during the 1996-97 year.

The EOP sophomores were selected for the retention initiative because of their unusually high attrition rate prior to the implementation of the ELA program. Students were apprised of the ELA program initially via correspondence explaining the details of the program. At the first cohort meeting for the semester, the students were introduced to their ELAs.

Through consistent contact with students and timely intervention, the Educational Learning Assistants provide a key liaison function between the sophomores and the professional staff. ELAs maintained contact with their students through email, telephone, and in person. In addition, they referred students to the appropriate departments on campus to deal with any academic, financial, or personal problems that may arise. In addtion, the ELA coordinator was available to answer questions and deal with emergencies. The ELAs were charged with the task of assisting their students to form study groups, sign up for tutoring and make appointments for individual counseling. In order to maintain consistent and timely contact with their students, the ELAs created email distribution lists that were used to notify students of scholarships, grants, part-time jobs, internships, co-ops, workshops, conferences, and other activities on campus. Tutorial attendance was monitored monthly with the University Learning Center's Tutorial Coordinator. A closer relationship was forged with the Career Services Division to have more timely information on opportunities for the students. The Student Activities Coordinator was also contacted for information and referrals to student organizations on campus. The ELA coordinator met individually with all the students to develop a Long-Range Academic Plan for graduation, a résumé, and a portfolio brief. Students on probation were required to attend tutoring and workshops (i.e. study skills, procrastination, and test preparation).

For the purposes of the study, the performance of the students was compared with that of the 1994 class, which served as the contrast group. Using retention as a major outcome measure, 29% of the sophomores in the 1995 experimental group achieved junior status by September of 1997 versus 0% in the contrast group. During the first semester of the program, the students on academic probation decreased from 33% in the contrast group to 12% in the experimental group. Also, there were three sophomores in the experimental group who obtained an impressive 4.0 semester GPA. Only two students in the experimental group were placed on academic suspension after the fall semester, compared to eight students in the contrast group.

There were also numerous successes related to the career and professional development/networking objectives of the students. Fifteen sophomores were elected to serve as officers in various campus organizations and student chapters of professional associations. Six students were selected to participate in various campus activities. Two students were hired for internships with Lucent Technologies and Prudential Insurance; four were accepted to internships at pre-med and pre-legal studies programs. Three students received campus-wide honors and awards for academic excellence.