Mentoring & First Year Experience

doris The Early Alert Mentor Program involves Faculty and Staff Advisors. The program is designed to enhance at-risk student success by

Increasing/strengthening mentoring
Increasing faculty-student contact outside the classroom
Alerting Advisors early when students are struggling academically

Following is a summary of how the program works:

The Student Advocate meets with the entire group for advisement during the summer when they complete their placement test.
Students chosen for the program have different majors and place into DMA 0902 and DEN 1000. Faculty and Staff Advisors serve as Advisor/Mentor for 1-2 pilot students only.
The Student Advocate works with the Coordinator of Freshman Seminar/Orientation to include a meeting between the group and their Faculty Advisors/Mentors during Orientation.
During the first few weeks of the semester the Student Advocate sends each Faculty Advisor his or her mentee's class schedule as well as their home/residence hall phone number to contact them personally to schedule a meeting to discuss how the semester is going, etc. Program guidelines will be provided to each Advisor. Follow up phone calls are made with each Advisor to find out if anyone did not show up and the Student Advocate contacts students personally to mediate a meeting.
When midterm grades are posted, the Student Advocate sends each Advisor notification of any mentees with D's or F's. Advisors are asked to schedule a meeting with each individual.
Advisors/Mentors are asked to schedule another meeting as the end of the semester approaches. This meeting will be required of all mentees. The Student Advocate follows up with each Advisor and mediates meetings if anyone does not show up.

Students meet face to face as follows: During the summer with the Student Advocate, during Orientation with Faculty Advisors, three meetings during the semester with Advisors (students who did not have D's or F's on their midterm grade report may only meet twice with Advisors during the semester). Students are requested to complete an evaluation of the program at the end of the semester.

Objectives and outcomes of the program are as follows:

During their first semester, students will know their Advisor by name and will have established a comfortable relationship with him/her that will last until they complete their goals at SCCC (degree, transfer, certificate, etc.)
Students who struggled during midterms, with the help of their Advisor/Mentor and their Plan of Study, will raise their "poor" mid-term grades by at least 1 letter grade.
By establishing relationships with their Advisors/Mentors early, students in the pilot group express greater satisfaction with their college experience, than those not in the program.
Minority and first-generation students in the group establish a "connection" on campus, and express a greater satisfaction with their college experience.

The mentoring program is set up to be as easy as possible for Faculty Advisors to spend more quality time with students, particularly our at-risk population. Since it is challenging to balance a full teaching load and all other responsibilities, the Student Advocate communicates with everyone regularly to ensure mentor and student needs are met.