cuyahoga community college heidi athey janet...

Guiding Students to Retention through Peer Mentoring

Cuyahoga Community College Heidi Athey

Judy LaRiccia-Grant Janet Spitzig

Strategic Plan 2013-2016 ◦ Access and Engagement ◦ Quality and Innovation ◦ Completion and Success

Student Success Specialist positions ◦ Coordinate retention programs for 1st year students Mentoring Peer mentoring Early Alert Student Ambassador Program 1st Year Success Newsletters Case management for Compact Scholar students Gradfest, Welcome Week, etc. ◦ Represented at each campus: one at Westshore, two

at East and West, three at Metropolitan.

National Statistics for Community Colleges ◦ 1st generation college students1: 42% ◦ Students requiring at least 1 developmental course1: 60% ◦ Retention for 2-Year Public Colleges2: 55.7%

Tri-C Statistics ◦ 1st generation college students: Approximately 58% ◦ Students requiring a developmental course for Fall 2012 English 68% Math 95%

◦ Retention rate Fall 2011 to Fall 2012: All Students: 47.5% 1st Year Students: 40.5%

1. American Association of Community Colleges. (2012, April). Reclaiming the American

Dream: A report from the 21st Century Commission on the Future of Community Colleges. Washington, DC: Retrieved online: http://www.aacc.nche.edu/21stCenturyReport

2. ACT, Inc. (2013). The Reality of College Readiness. Iowa City, IA: Retrieved online: http://www.act.org/readinessreality/13/pdf/Reality-of-College-Readiness-2013.pdf

An Integrated Support System ◦ Navigating the college ◦ Accessing resources ◦ Transitioning to college expectations ◦ Establishing a sense of belonging ◦ Building of confidence

Student Obstacles ◦ Time ◦ Commute ◦ Child Care ◦ Computer Access ◦ Computer Knowledge ◦ Anxiety ◦ Learning Disabled ◦ Physically Disabled ◦ Lack of support system ◦ Family responsibilities

Handling Multiple Life Roles ◦ Parent ◦ Employee ◦ Partner ◦ Caretaker ◦ Student

Employee

Partner Joe Smith

Caretaker Student

Friend

Parent

Religious/ Spiritual

Social

Adapted from Youngstown State University 2011, Western Campus pilot ◦ Student Ambassadors ◦ Peer Mentors assigned at New Student Orientation Peer Mentors assigned 10 students per orientation Establish leadership role Navigating the campus, my Tri-C Space, registration

process and financial aid. Develop rapport through group interaction Facilitate peer mentoring contract and expectations

Hiring Process: ◦ Selection process ◦ Qualifications ◦ Background/drug screening

Training: ◦ General student ambassador training ◦ New Student Orientation training ◦ Peer Mentor training ◦ College-wide retreat

Semester Engagement: ◦ Welcome postcard ◦ Weekly e-mails ◦ Phone calls before midterms/finals ◦ In-person visits ◦ Incentive based learning ◦ Participation in campus events

0.0%

20.0%

40.0%

60.0%

80.0%

100.0%

Peer Mentors Total Students

62% 50.2%

Retention Rate 1st Year Students – Western Campus

Fall 2011 - Fall 2012

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

90.0%

100.0%

Fall 11 - Spring 12 Fall 11 - Fall 12

65.4%

46.9%

66.8%

46.0%

71.5%

50.6%

68.6%

48.3%

Eastern

Metro

Western

Total

Retention Rate by Campus Entire Student Population

0.0%

20.0%

40.0%

60.0%

80.0%

100.0%

Peer Mentors Total Students

72.4% 64.3%

Retention Rate 1st Year Students

Fall 2012 - Spring 2013

Retention Rate by Campus Fall 2012 - Spring 2013

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

90.0%

100.0%

East Metro West

66.2% 65.5%

78.7%

61.2% 57.6%

70.1%

Peer Mentors

Total Students

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

90.0%

100.0%

Peer Mentors Total Students

70.9% 69.8%

A-C Grade Rate Fall 2012

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

90.0%

100.0%

East Metro West

65.5% 64.3%

75.6%

65.8% 63.4%

75.1%

Peer Mentors

Total Students

A-C Grade Rate by Campus Fall 2012

Student Engagement ◦ Commuter campus ◦ 65% of students enrolled part-time ◦ Outside commitments /responsibilities ◦ Establishing the benefits

Time ◦ Managing ambassadors ◦ Prepping materials

Ambassadors ◦ Budget restrictions ◦ Limited pool ◦ Turnover

Communication/Connections ◦ Contact information ◦ Home life

Uniformity across campuses First Year Experience course Mentee concerns survey Mentee evaluations

Eastern Campus: Ryan Hoenig 216-987-2638 ESS 1600 Ryan.Hoenig@tri-c.edu Tammi Kohl Kennedy 216-987-2634 ESS 1600 Tammi.Kennedy@tri-c.edu

Metropolitan Campus: Heidi Athey 216-987-3422 MSS G07 Heidi.Athey@tri-c.edu James Gardner, Jr. 216-987-3339 MSS G07 James.GardnerJr@tri-c.edu Jacques Smith 216-987-4802 MSS G07 Jacques.Smith@tri-c.edu

Western Campus: Judy LaRiccia-Grant 216-987-5177 WSS G100 Judith.LaRiccia-Grant@tri-c.edu Janet Spitzig 216-987-5675 WSS G100 Janet.Spitzig@tri-c.edu

Westshore Campus Maureen Gray-O’Shea 216-987-5858 Maureen.Gray-O’shea@tri-c.edu