The Office of Educational Services and Programs is an often-misunderstood system which encompasses several programs to aid and increase student retention.

ESP has grown and changed since it was established in 1971 under the name Office of Special Projects.

According to the program outline, ESP’s mission is “to identify, recruit, and assist otherwise capable students whose pre-college education has not fully enabled them to take maximum advantage of their potential and the opportunities of higher education at NIU.”

ESP Director Tendaji Ganges said there have been complaints that not enough NIU students benefit from the program, but funding only goes so far.

“It’s similar in the same way to a parent giving a youngster an allowance,” Ganges said, explaining although many people need benefits, funds spread too thin do not help anyone.

NIU provides $967,128 to ESP while the federal government allocates $186,501 to the program. In total, ESP serves more than 2,000 students at NIU according to a program outline.

Although ESP has a diverse population, it strives to serve racial minorities and the “historically underrepresented” who show strong potential to graduate from college, the outline said.

ESP’s services are divided into two sections which cover personal counseling, scholastic services and advising throughout the student’s college career.

The Avenue for Leadership and Education—Now and Tomorrow (TALENT) was first funded in 1985 by the U.S. Department of Education, according to ESP reports. TALENT operates in Rockford to seek out children and young adults to prepare them for college.

ACE, also funded by the U.S. Department of Education, was known as Upward Bound until 1988. ACE operates in DeKalb, Elgin, Rockford and Aurora and serves 85 high school students, the outline said. ACE provides students with counseling, academic skills development, and help with placement.

The other section of system, composed of three programs, is headed under CAP.

Perhaps the most well-known ESP program is Couseling Help and Assistance Necessary for a College Education (CHANCE), which began in 1968. However, the C’s meaning has changed and now stands for “counseling” instead of “complete,” the outline said.

CHANCE’s job is to recruit freshmen and support them throughout their career at NIU. Support through CHANCE was only available for freshmen until 1988-89, according to the outline. CHANCE now serves continuing students and is paired with Access to Courses and Careers through Educational Support Services (ACCESS). Together, the two serve more than 2,000 NIU students, including 400 first-year students, the outline said.

In upcoming years, ESP plans to start a third CAP program named PROMPT. The program is expected to be approved by the Illinois Board of Higher Education for funding.