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Amy Lorenz Marshall University Huntington, West Virginia United States Slide 2 coachamyruns lorenza@marshall.edu Slide 3 Assistant Director of Academic Initiatives New position in 2012 Reason: On campus grade point average (GPA) was lower than off campus; retention rates were parallel to the rates on campus (68%) Oversee residence education, the first and second year experience, and academic initiatives Slide 4 Attendees will Understand Marshall Universitys approach to Academic Mentoring Identify student populations for a potential Mentor Connection program Develop learning outcomes and job descriptions for Academic Mentors Articulate campus partnerships to help facilitate a mentoring program Receive support materials to aid in the creation of a similar program at home institutions Slide 5 Marshall University Slide 6 Located in Huntington, WV Part of Appalachia Several low-income, first general students 68% of students need some form of developmental education Our retention rate is at 73% from first to second year From Fall 2011-Fall 2012, the average GPA for students living on campus was a 2.1 Slide 7 Midterm interventions with 1 st and 2 nd year students on the D/F list Marcos Academic Madness A social norming campaign regarding healthy academic behaviors Partnerships with advising offices Living learning communities One for most colleges As of Fall 2014, all 1 st year students will live in an LLC Academic programming in the residence halls Faculty-in-Residence Slide 8 Began in Fall 2013 Overall goals: Provide direct academic support to students in the residence hall Recruit and train staff able to help in all academic areas Create tutoring opportunities beyond office hours Improve the GPA and retention of 1 st year students Slide 9 Mentors live in residence halls with 1 st year students Provide 3 office hours a week At least 2 after 8 pm Each holds 2 academic programs a semester Provide general academic support Coordinate and facilitate study groups Coach students on academic probation through the Mentor Connection Program Slide 10 Student Resource Center Provosts Office/Academic Affairs Professional and Faculty advisors Career Services Multicultural Affairs Slide 11 Slide 12 Structured, academic coaching Students meet biweekly with their Academic Mentors and complete the following: Academic Plans, Part 1 and 2 Complete a Time Management Packet Meet at least once with each professor for their courses Attend at least 2 Student Resource Center events Complete a Learning Styles Inventory and other interventions mutually determined with the Academic Mentors Study skills instruction, test preparation, tutoring, and so on Slide 13 Formats Social media Fliers Emails to key academic partners Specific contact to students with below a 2.0 in Fall 2013 Incentives Every student received a $125 bookstore gift card 5 students received $500 due to nominations from their Academic Mentors Slide 14 Academic Plan, Parts 1 and 2 Online Resources Modeled after the University of Connecticuts Uconn Connects Program http://aac.uconn.edu/links-resources/ Slide 15 Slide 16 Slide 17 Slide 18 Slide 19 Type of InteractionNumber Academic Advising7 Course Registration76 Class Attendance7 Clubs7 Final Exams7 General121 GPA Calculation7 Graduate School3 INTO7 Major Exploration17 Math Prep34 Mentor Connection Meetings76 Midterm Grades58 Motivation3 Notetaking38 Professors/Office Hours243 Sleep3 Stress Relief31 Student Illness7 Study Skills72 Study Bucks48 Test Preparation45 Test Anxiety3 Time Management59 Transfer7 Tutoring27 Writing Skills20 All1003 Slide 20 Students in the Mentor Connection Program had an average GPA of 2.64 The average GPA of 1 st year students on campus is a 2.02 Slide 21 Slide 22