From the time they arrive until the time they leave, every minute is scheduled. They are far, however, from spoon-fed or coddled. And if there are slip-ups, they are dealt with swiftly.

Michael Fagin, MSU’s vice president for institutional diversity and founder of the College Access Program, says rules — and the following thereof — are essential to the program.

A young couple was caught kissing, a violation of the rules (Rule No. 23: No inappropriate physical contact), and were sent to Fagin for discipline. The young man objected. He said that because he’s performed well in his academics, this rule infraction should be overlooked. He also said the rule was a poor one.

“I told him, ‘I don’t like that there’s a stop sign on Malin (Street). I really don’t. But I stop because it’s the rule,’” Fagin said.

When one strays, they all pay. Sometimes that pay comes in the form of extra running or some other extra physical punishment. And when they do, the instructors do it with them.

“By week two,” said Tonya Phillips, director of the College Access Program, “they’re checking each other.”

Rules also govern who can come to the College Access Program. Students must be at least one of following: low-income, first-generation college student, or come from an underrepresented college demographic. Many, says Phillips, are all three.

Most come from Minnesota, but this year the program has five students from Florida. There are also students from Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin.

And since the program was launched in 2006, other programs have sprouted to support it.

Jimmie Gunn, one of the program’s academic support advisers, also heads up a weekend program for elementary school students. It runs during the regular academic year and targets the same type of students targeted by the regular College Access Program.

For first- and second-year high school students from the Mankato area schools, there is the Mankato College Access Program. The program identifies early some of the students who may be candidates for the regular College Access Program. Successful completion of that program allows them to easily transition into the regular program.

At a recent classroom session led by Phillips — a former Boys and Girls Club director who runs a classroom with a rare blend of charisma, discipline and personability — she stepped off the stage and told student Derrick Jacobs to take over.

Jacobs hopped up on stage and picked up right where Phillips left off — using his own blend of charisma and stage presence to keep the attention of the 50 other students in the room.

Up closer, one-on-one, he is articulate and thoughtful. His handshake is firm and he looks you in the eye. You’d be hard-pressed, after watching him work the room and speaking to him face to face, to find a reason why he wouldn’t be academically successful in college.

“I kind of sloughed off in high school my first couple of years,” the Northfield High School alumnus says. Why? Girls, friends, sports. The usual reasons.