This is a Center for Student Opportunity Best-Practices Webinar for College Partners titled "The Power of Near-Peer Mentoring: Supporting Your First-Generation and Underserved Students"

1. Best-Practices Webinar Series
The Power of Near-Peer Mentoring:
Supporting your First Generation
and Underserved Students

2. Panelists
Joseph Colon
Michelle Wellman Shontay Delalue King
Moderator: Alexandra Economou Assistant Director of
Director of Access Center Director of Intercultural Center
Director of Partner Relations Multicultural Affairs
Colorado State University Bryant University
Center for Student Opportunity Johns Hopkins University

3. Colorado State University

4. The Dream Project
A student-initiated high school outreach program that connects
CSU students with first-generation and low-income students in
Fort Collins area high schools to assist in the college admissions
process, including: SAT prep, applications, writing
essays, applying for financial aid, and finding scholarships.

5. Dual Focus
1. To give these college-bound high school students the assistance
they may not receive at home or elsewhere
2. To simultaneously teach CSU students about educational
opportunity and social mobility and examine these ideas in the
context of Colorado State University

6. Fast Facts
•History: Began in 2008 under the leadership of Jim Rawlins; based
on the model at University of Washington, Seattle
•Optional participation
•Response Rate: about 80% of eligible high school students participate
•Mentor: Mentee Ratio – 1:2
•Average Time Commitment: 2-4 hours/week

7. Who are Dream Scholars?
•High school students attending Fort Collins area high schools
•First-Generation, multicultural and/or underserved students
•Must be nominated by high school counselors
•66 scholars in 2011

8. Who is the Dream Team?
• 34 Students currently enrolled at CSU
• Students who have already demonstrated leadership on campus
• Students who went through the program the previous year
• Have successfully completed a background check
• Gone through a rigorous application and interview process

9. How are they paired?
Similarity in:
1. Gender
2. Ethnicity
3. Life Experiences

10. Activities
•Essay writing
•SAT preparation classes
•Signature events
•Admissions weekends at CSU
•1-on-1 with your CSU mentor

11. Best Practices
1. Dream Team Training
2. “For Students, By Students”
3. Learning from Others

12. #1: Dream Team Training
•A two-hour weekly class taught by Professor Blane Harding
•Use a syllabus and workbook
•Course Credit

13. Workbook & Syllabus

14. #2: For Students, By Students
“We believe in providing vehicles for student leadership and engagement.”
Created for students, by students:
• 100% Volunteer
• 95% Student-Run

15. Student Leadership Chart
Classroom Community External High School
Administration Expansion
Interaction Development Communication Interaction
• CSU Classroom • Think Tank • Social Events • Development • High School
• Expansion into Lead Meetings
• Communicate new high schools
• TA Experience opportunities to • Chipotle • Partnerships
engage through: Fridays • Coordinate High
• Expansion into School Visits
• Guest Speakers  Website • Newsletter
Updates
other universities
• Volunteer
• Articles
 Announcements
Opportunities • Budget • FAFSA Nights
 Facebook • Promotional
 E-mails Materials
• Discussions • “Community-in- • Grant Writing • Scholar
• Mentor
waiting” Recruitment
Recruitment
• Workshops • Signature
Events
• Retreats

16. #3: Learning From Others
Bringing the success of University of Washington to CSU
CSU 2010 CSU 2011 UW 2010
Dream scholars 18 66 457
Dream team 14 35 207
High 1 school 2 school 16 schools &
Schools/Programs programs
Money Raised $0 $1,670 $351,000
Enrolled in Higher 12 TBD n/a
Education
Enrolled at CSU 6 TBD n/a

17. Things to Consider
1. Recruitment as the Byproduct, Not the Goal
2. Teaching Professionalism

18. #1: Recruitment as Byproduct
NOT THE GOAL!
Last year, one third of the Dream Scholars matriculated at CSU (6 of 18 students)
BUT
The Dream Team helps Dream Scholars attend ANY college of their choice.
It is about what is right for the Scholar, not CSU.

19. #2: Teaching Professionalism
1. Attention to detail and specificity of thought and language
2. Prompt response to communication
3. Attendance that is both on-time and reliable

21. Bryant University

22. 4MILE
A Peer Mentoring program for domestic and international students of
color designed to give them a ‘sense of belonging’ on a predominantly
white campus.
4 – 4 years at Bryant University
M – Multicultural
I – International
L – Leadership
E – Experience

23. Four Pillars
C - Culture
A – Academics
P – Personal Growth
S – Social Development

24. Who are the Mentees?
125 first year students who represent
various cultural backgrounds.
The program is required for international students and strongly
recommended for domestic students of color.

25. Who are the Mentors?
• 32 Current Bryant University students
• Completed Application
• Successful interview process
• Many are graduates of the program

26. Fast Facts
• History: Founded 10 years ago, originally as an orientation
for international students
• Staffing: Intercultural Center Staff, student mentors, and
volunteer faculty and staff from across campus
• Mentor:Mentee Ratio – 1:5
• Parent/Family Component: During the program week
•Response Rate: Majority of people invited to attend do

27. Key Components
• Mentor Hiring Process
• Summer Outreach
• Week-long intense program
• Fall and Spring Activities
• Year-long Mentoring

28. Best Practices
1. Integrating International and Multicultural Students
2. Requiring a Year-Long Commitment

29. #1: Integration
• Shared experiences amongst underrepresented groups
• Ability to address issues of race
• Cost-Effectiveness relative to outcomes
Source: At Home in the World: Bridging the Gap Between Internationalization and
Multicultural Education by Christa L. Olson, Rhodri Evans, Robert Shoenberg, American
Council on Education, 2007.

30. #2: Requiring a Year
•Address transition needs beyond the first week of school
•Adequate time to build relationships between staff and students
•Develop leaders for the upcoming year

31. Something to Consider
• Hiring mentors with integrity
• Dispelling the ‘Clique’ Myth
Recommended Reading:
“Why are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?”: And Other Conversations About Race
by Beverly Daniel Tatum

33. Johns Hopkins University

34. MAPP
MAPP (Mentoring Assistance Peer Program) focuses on the
first year experience by supporting underrepresented
freshmen at Hopkins. The program is designed to enhance
and develop underrepresented students through several
levels of involvement.

35. Targeted Areas of Support
• Academic Support
• Career Development
• Multicultural education/programming
• Service Learning/Community Service
• Social programming

36. Fast Facts
•History: Began in 1992 by the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA)
to support African American, Hispanic/Latinos, Asians, and Native
Americans and improve retention
• Optional Participation
•Mentor: Mentee Ratio: 1:5
• Oversight: Leadership Team (5 Veterans) and Assistant Director

37. Who are MAPP Mentees?
• 165 Domestic (US) and International
Freshmen - African
American, Hispanic/Latinos, Native
American, and Asian/Pacific
Islander, etc.
• Made a 1 year commitment and
participate in monthly programming
(Social, Community
Service, Cultural, Academic)

38. MAPP
MAPP (Mentoring Assistance Peer Program) focuses on the
first year experience by supporting underrepresented
freshmen at Hopkins. The program is designed to enhance
and develop underrepresented students through several
levels of involvement.

39. Who are the Mentors?
• 40-45 upper classmen
• Leaders on campus
• Academically successful
• Selected after a Group Interview and
then Individual Interviews
• Trained on diversity topics and
effective counseling

40. How are they paired?
• Major
• Online Questionnaires

41. Best Practices
1. Bi-Monthly MAPP Mentor Meetings (Mandatory)
2. Semester Program Evaluations
3. Student Committees

42. #1: Mandatory Meetings
Bi-Monthly Meetings
•1st meeting of the month:
In-service training/Mentor-mentee attendance
• 2nd meeting of the month:
Business meeting/Cohort Family programming development

43. #2: Evaluation
• Interactions between mentors and mentees
• Accessibility of Mentor
• Mentee Participation
• Programming Opportunities
• Overall value of MAPP
• Suggestions for improvement
Conducted at the end of every semester

44. #3: Student Committees
Committees: Must plan 1 large and 1 small scale event a semester
Targeted committees enhance programming opportunities
• Social Programming Committee
• Diversity Committee
• Academic Committee
• Community Service Committee
• Selections Committee

45. Things to Consider
1. Data Collection – It can be hard to get
2. Faculty Buy-In for programming – Again, it can be hard to get

46. #1: Collecting Data
It can be hard because:
• Students have short attention spans
• Small return
• Everything is now done online
It helps to:
• Keep questions short and sweet
• Measure their engagement (eg. How many MAPP programs have you attended?)
• Create an incentive program for returns (eg. Catered dinner for cohort family)
• Though online is easiest, have hard-copy evaluations available
• Give immediate feedback to mentors (They can improve tactics immediately)

47. #2: Get Faculty Buy-In
It can be hard because:
•Faculty can be fickle, even if they want to get involved
•Faculty schedule does not coincide with student
schedules
• Faculty need expectations in writing
It can help to:
• Get student references for dynamic faculty
• Invite new faculty involved
• Keep your requests small

48. Contact Information
Michelle Wellman Shontay Delalue King
Colorado State University Bryant University
Director of Access Center Director of Intercultural Center
michelle.wellman@colostate.edu sdelalue@bryant.edu
(970) 988-4569 (401) 232-6448
Alexandra Economou
Joseph Colon
Center for Student Opportunity
Johns Hopkins University
Director of Partner Relations & Outreach
Assistant Director, Multicultural Affairs
aeconomou@csopportunity.org
colon@jhu.edu
(301) 363-4226
(410) 516-8730