The Access Med program of the Office for Diversity and Student Success at Rutgers University in New Jersey is an academic support initiative aimed at increasing retention of undergraduate students in pre-med or other healthcare tracks. Students who join the program are required to spend six hours per week in mandatory study groups. They also receive two hours of academic support per STEM class. Students who are late for a study group or are late to a class, receive a red flag. Three red flags and they are thrown out of the program.
Students who remain in the program through their senior year, receive training courses for the Medical College Application Test. High performing students who are accepted into Phase II of Access Med as seniors, agree to enroll in the university’s Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and begin taking medical school courses during their senior year.
In 1987, one African American student graduated from the Rutgers pre-med program. This year, the university graduated 52 students who are going on to medical school or are continuing their education in healthcare fields.
