[Pols-l] Fw: Faculty Mentor Program - Request from Dean Lejuez

Mon Aug 8 22:39:31 CDT 2016

?FYI...(sorry for duplication) I participated last semester (w/o the travel money); my experience with the 2 assigned students was positive.

These are largely first generation students. That made a difference to me because I was as well.

If you are interested there is a link to sign-up in the message below.

DHM

________________________________
From: Ledom, Karen
Sent: Monday, August 8, 2016 6:44 PM
To: Ledom, Karen
Cc: Bradley, Bridget A.; Mann, Shelly Dawn
Subject: Faculty Mentor Program - Request from Dean Lejuez

Sent on Behalf of Carl Lejuez to all faculty in the College

Colleagues,
As we begin our second semester of the Faculty Mentor Program, I'd like to tell you a story about Chloe, a student in her second year at KU.  She was one of our participants when the mentor program launched last year.  She was not only struggling academically; through her mentor relationship we learned she faced financial difficulty and in fact was homeless.

Through connections with her faculty mentor and retention advisor, she improved her academic performance dramatically, from a 1.00 to a 2.75 term GPA in Spring 2016. But more importantly, through those connections she felt comfortable enough to share that she was currently homeless and struggling to find a way to get back on her feet.  We were able to work together to secure housing for her immediately and put her in touch with other financial aid resources so she could continue her path to graduation.

Last semester 121 faculty participated in the Faculty Mentoring Program to help students like Chloe. Initial data and student/mentor feedback suggests that the program benefitted the majority of students who received mentorship. I am grateful for the contributions so many of you made and hope you'll participate again this fall.

More mentors needed
A key finding from our first semester of this program is the need to identify and assist struggling students sooner. Doing so will allow the program to be more proactive but it also will require many more mentors. In recognition of the scope of our request, every faculty member who signs up to mentor a student for Fall 2016 will receive an additional $100 in their travel stipend (raising domestic travel to $800 and international travel to $1300). We view this as an opportunity to provide a small token of appreciation to faculty while increasing our ability to expand the program. If you are interested in signing up to be a mentor, please click here<http://kuclas.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_1HcrPXiNt922JW5> to sign up.

This iteration of the program will use questionnaire responses to match student/mentor pairs and we have taken steps to ensure students are responsive to contact from their mentor and active participants in working through their academic challenges and strategies for success.  You will be provided tools to assist you in these discussions, as well as opportunities to connect with fellow mentors throughout the semester. College Student Academic Services will be involved from beginning to end as a resource for mentors and students.

While we cannot solve student retention overnight, we can continue to work together in programs like this to make a difference. We need you and sincerely hope you will sign up today.

Thank you,
Carl

Karen J. Ledom
Director
Student Academic Services
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
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