CHANCE is a summer college access program that brings high school Latinx and Hispanic rising seniors from across North Carolina to UNCG for several days to get experience with college level classes and faculty, leadership and civic programming, cultural enrichment, and campus life. The main purpose of CHANCE is to encourage and equip Latinx and Hispanic students with the culturally informed awareness, knowledge, and skills to persist through high school and continue to higher education with UNCG as a school of choice. The campers learn about the resources and opportunities at UNCG, reside in a residence hall, eat in the dining hall, are mentored by UNCG students, meet staff, faculty, and alumni during their stay on campus. On the last day, typically a Saturday, there is a culminating ceremony and programming track specifically designed for the families of the campers. 25 UNCG students, including some former CHANCE Campers, serve in paid positions as Mentors and Coordinators during CHANCE week. July 10-15, 2023, are the dates for the 7th annual CHANCE which will host 100 campers.
UNCG’s CHANCE has been cited as one of the major campus-wide diversity initiatives that has earned UNCG five consecutive (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022) Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) awards by Insight in Diversity Magazine. In 2019, CHANCE Camp was featured as a Program to Watch by the national advocacy organization Excelencia in Education.