Not Easily Broken: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Mentoring 101 on Student Motivation and Performance among At-Risk Freshmen

The purpose of this study focuses on evaluating the effectiveness of Mentoring 101 on student motivation and performance in the first semester of the freshman year. MENT 101 (Mentoring) has been developed for incoming freshmen that desire assistance with adjustment to college. All students are encouraged to enroll with special emphasis being placed on students with weaker academic backgrounds (less than a 490 V SAT score or 19 Reading ACT score). The course is designed to allow a faculty member to work in a small group setting by establishing "break out" groups of no more than 1 instructor to 10 students per class meeting. The content also supplements a new First-Year Experience course taken by all students in their initial year. Students establish relationships through the assignment of accountability partners, and group discussions. While study strategies are addressed, so are other areas important to transition from home to school such as budgeting and career exploration. There is little data related to developmental education and the impact of intervention courses. The study is being conducted by having participants complete MENT 101 in addition to their normal coursework. As part of the study, participants will also complete the College Learning Effectiveness Inventory (CLEI). This inventory is given during the first week and the last week of the course to measure student/University connection, motivation, study skill development, communication skill perception and general academic self-efficacy.