The effects of a mentoring intervention program on retention of students in a community college
Abstract
The purpose of the study was to develop and implement a mentoring intervention program and determine its effectiveness on completion, grades, and enrollment in courses during the following semester. The focus was on foundation reading courses at a community college. Students in the reading courses were informed that they were a part of a program called New Dimensions that provided mentoring and other support services to participants. Gender, marital status, and ethnicity were the major variables. An experimental design was used in this study. The effects of mentoring on course completion, grades, and retention were examined. Students were identified as potential dropouts or completors using the College Student Inventory (CSI). Students identified by the CSI as potential dropouts were randomly assigned either to a group that received the mentoring intervention program or to a group that did not receive the mentoring intervention program. The results indicated that the mentoring intervention had no effects on completion of the reading courses or enrollment into the next semester (retention). There was a significant effect on grades for those students who received mentoring. The effect that the mentoring intervention and gender had on grades was also examined. Further, the effect of mentoring and marital status on grades was analyzed. In addition, the effect mentoring and ethnicity had on grades was examined. The mentoring intervention produced a minimal effect on grades by gender, however, the results were not statistically significant. The mentoring intervention with single students produced a significant effect on grades. The mentoring of minority students also indicated a significant effect on grades. There was no evidence that mentoring white or married students produced a significant difference on grades in comparison with the nonmentored group of students. Based on the results of this study, mentoring intervention should be funded as an on-going retention strategy. Further research should include larger sample sizes and a wider range of courses. In addition, other variables such as economic factors and academic background should also be investigated.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Greenan, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Adult education|Continuing education|Community colleges|Literacy|Reading instruction
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