Access Barnard

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About Access Barnard

Throughout 2020-2021, DEI in partnership with the Dean of the College, will launch a new vision and approach to supporting students who identify as first-generation, low-income, and international. Access Barnard's support will be tailored to the diversity of identities represented within these groups and allow these distinct programs to work more closely together. The new office is located in the old admissions space in Milbank Hall. Access Barnard, an institution-wide initiative as well as a new one stop office for student support, will initiate the following:

• Convene a student advisory board to inform the development of the Access Barnard.Office and provide regular feedback on how well student needs are met. Check back here for more information on how to apply to the advisory board.
• A new space that brings into a single location support for FLI, Opportunity Programs and international students, a sketch of which you can see above.
• An expanded peer mentoring program designed to support the diversity of identities within the FLI and Pell population at Barnard.
• Launch a single application process for students to find supplementary support for a range of needs to support their academic experience.
• Enhance existing mentoring and networking experiences.
• Offer ongoing workshops for staff, faculty and students on equity minded practices.

For questions about Access Barnard please reach out to Associate Dean Jemima Gedeon, Dean of the College Leslie Grinage, or the Office of the VP for DEI.

The SASA committee will begin reviewing requests in early January. Please be patient as we anticipate a high volume at the start of the semester. The application is available through your myBarnard portal. You will be prompted to log in. Once logged in look under myAcademic Record. Here is what it looks like: 

The Supplemental Academic Support Application is intended to provide students with a single point of access to request/propose/apply for additional needs to support their educational progress throughout their time at Barnard. This support is intended for students receiving any form of financial aid from the college, although the committee reviews each application and will make exceptions depending on the circumstances of the student. The SASA can provide support for a variety of services including but not limited to:  

• Course materials beyond book funds included in financial aid
• Fees related to health services
• Graduate prep course support (MCATS, LSAT etc. prep)
• Start up costs associated with your studies
• Metro cards for travel to internships/employment etc. 
• Start up funds needed to furnish a suite kitchen
• Gift cards for groceries if your meal swipes have run out or if you live off campus and find yourself unable to pay for groceries
• Laptop loan for the semester or academic year
• WIFI connection or high speed internet connection for the academic year 
• Emergency support for unexpected life events (airfare home due to family emergencies as one example) 
• Testing for learning disabilities 

SASA can also help get you connected to a resource at Barnard or CU that you might not know about. The support from SASA may be financial or it may offer support to get connected with non-financial resources such as laptops or specialized advisement. So even if you aren’t sure your request fits, apply and we will work to connect you to the right place. The SASA committee meets every week to review requests.

The SASA committee is composed of:

•  VP of DEI Ariana González Stokas,
• Associate Dean Jemima Gedeon
• Dean Wendy Garay
• Opportunity programs staff representative
• Financial aid representative
• BCIT representative
• BLAIS representative
• Faculty representative

Barnard College’s First Generation/Low-Income (FLI) and Opportunity Programs have served as essential support, training, and programming for the College’s highly diverse student body, working with students, faculty, and other campus offices to create a positive experience for underrepresented students. As part of Access Barnard, the FLI program and Opportunity Programs will continue to provide their existing supports but integrating these existing offices under one umbrella will allow for increased collaboration and joint programming on key topics and initiatives that similarly impact the communities they serve.

Peer mentoring is widely considered a high-impact practice for student success. Peer mentoring has been shown to enhance students' sense of belonging and satisfaction with their college experience and enhance psycho-social belonging. For students new to the college experience, peer mentors have been shown to be indispensable to the transition particularly for first-generation students. Currently, Opportunity Programs and the FLI program have each developed versions of peer mentoring. Access Barnard is enhancing this existing model to address a range of ways peer mentors can be utilized to support students as they navigate their experience at Barnard. Access Barnard mentors will:

• Peer mentors will provide specialized support such as first-year mentors, alum mentors and mentors in majors.
• A group of mentors will help student identify their needs and connect them to institutional resource at the front desk of the new Access Barnard office.
• Mentors will work with the Center for Engaged Pedagogy to develop workshops and offer trainings for staff and faculty on supporting FLI student learning.

For more information about Access Barnard mentoring, please contact Dean Jemima Gedeon.

The Food Pantry at Columbia-Barnard Hall is open to any student within any of the 20 Schools within Columbia University - undergraduate or graduate, full-time or part-time. Any student who has any level of food insecurity can reach out to the Food Pantry to get a disbursement catered to your individual dietary and household needs. All students can feel rest assured that any information they provide to us will remain within the Food Pantry and will not be shared with anyone outside of the Food Pantry without their explicit permission.

Currently the Barnard Hall location is closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Check back for details on the reopening for Spring 2021.