The ability to read a tabloid newspaper in English - that is the only requirement for enrollment in the Bard College Course in the Humanities at The Door. With this one skill, a disadvantaged youth from any New York borough can open the door to higher learning through a collaborative program of Bard College, in the Hudson River Valley, and The Door, in Manhattan.

The Door, founded in 1972 by educators, physicians, artists, attorneys, and social workers to keep vulnerable youth from "falling through the cracks," is now an international model for the delivery of youth development services. The Bard College Course in the Humanities at the Door is one of 20 different preventive, enrichment, and remedial programs staffed by 127 employees and all offered under one roof, free of charge.

Piloted in October 1995, the Bard course offers young people, who are not necessarily oriented toward college, the opportunity to explore several disciplines in the humanities under the tutelage of college professors. Meeting two evenings each week over a 26-week period, for a total of 110 hours, students explore literature and poetry, moral philosophy, logic and rhetoric, art history, and U.S. History through the Civil War. In 1998-99, a class in critical thinking and writing was added. Participating students also are linked to The Door's College Prep Project, which provides counseling services, college site visits, assistance with admissions and financial aid applications, and SAT preparation classes. In addition, students receive assistance with child care, transportation, a light supper, and access to other Door services.

Each year since its launch, Bard has enrolled 25 Door members in the course, 80 percent of whom completed it, and 50 percent of whom earned college credits and/or enrolled in college upon course completion.

With results like these, Bard College and The Door are now developing tools to measure not only the students' academic achievement but also the immediate educational and motivational impact of the course on them. They also are looking at the course's value in demystifying college by acquainting students with college-level testing, performance standards, instruction and study, and classroom decorum. This is particularly important as the majority of students in this program are the first in their families to consider postsecondary education.