Part of the Peralta Colleges' commitment to the full breath of it's community is efforts at the college and district level to provide targeted services for groups typically underserved by higher education.

Merritt College's Next UP program works to provide a smooth transition to college for current and former foster youth students, with the goal of creating an engaging, inclusive, and equitable community in which current and former foster youth can attain their educational, career, and personal goals. The program provides a “One-Stop-Shop” that offers personalized assistance with educational goals by offering holistic services such as academic counseling, personal support, book grants, transportation, tutoring, food, emergency housing, and referrals to community resources like transportation; tutoring; food; and emergency housing. 

The strides that NextUp is making at Merritt College are encouraging. Merritt’s student enrollment and retention are steadily improving and the college anticipates having its first NextUp students graduate this spring semester!

Merritt is also in the process of hiring Next Up Student Ambassadors to manage the social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, Tic Toc, SnapChat, and Twitter) so that Merritt can increase college outreach and visibility. NextUp is also planning a series of workshops in the coming weeks that will focus on topics such as Time Management, Financial Literacy, Transfer Readiness, and Self-Care.

This article is an excerpt from the President’s Report, written by Dr. David Johnson, Merritt College President, that was presented to the PCCD Board of Trustees during their regular meeting on Tuesday, January 19, 2021.