Guiding Students to Retention through Peer Mentoring
Cuyahoga Community College
Heidi Athey
Judy LaRiccia-Grant
Janet Spitzig

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◦ Access and Engagement
◦ Quality and Innovation
◦ Completion and Success

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◦ Coordinate retention programs for 1 st year students
 Mentoring
 Peer mentoring
 Early Alert
 Student Ambassador Program
 1 st 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.

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National Statistics for Community Colleges
◦ 1 st generation college students 1 : 42%
◦ Students requiring at least 1 developmental course 1 : 60%
◦ Retention for 2-Year Public Colleges 2 : 55.7%
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Tri-C Statistics
◦ 1 st 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%
 1 st 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

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◦ 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
Parent
Religious/
Spiritual
Employee
Joe Smith
Student
Friend
Social
Partner
Caretaker

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◦ 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

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◦ Selection process
◦ Qualifications
◦ Background/drug screening
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◦
◦
◦
◦
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

Retention Rate
1 st Year Students – Western Campus
Fall 2011 - Fall 2012
100,0%
80,0%
60,0%
40,0%
20,0%
0,0%
62%
Peer Mentors
50.2%
Total Students

Retention Rate by Campus
Entire Student Population
100,0%
90,0%
80,0%
70,0%
60,0%
50,0%
40,0%
30,0%
20,0%
10,0%
0,0%
65,4%
66,8%
71,5%
68,6%
Fall 11 - Spring 12
46,9% 46,0%
50,6%
48,3%
Fall 11 - Fall 12
Eastern
Metro
Western
Total

Retention Rate
1 st Year Students
Fall 2012 - Spring 2013
100,0%
80,0%
60,0%
40,0%
20,0%
0,0%
72,4%
Peer Mentors
64,3%
Total Students

Retention Rate by Campus
Fall 2012 - Spring 2013
100,0%
90,0%
80,0%
70,0%
60,0%
50,0%
40,0%
30,0%
20,0%
10,0%
0,0%
66,2%
61,2%
65,5%
57,6%
78,7%
70,1%
East Metro West
Peer Mentors
Total Students

100,0%
90,0%
80,0%
70,0%
60,0%
50,0%
40,0%
30,0%
20,0%
10,0%
0,0%
70,9%
Peer Mentors
A-C Grade Rate
Fall 2012
69,8%
Total Students

A-C Grade Rate by Campus
Fall 2012
100,0%
90,0%
80,0%
70,0%
60,0%
50,0%
40,0%
30,0%
20,0%
10,0%
0,0%
65,5% 65,8%
East
64,3%
63,4%
Metro
75,6% 75,1%
West
Peer Mentors
Total Students

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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

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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

Western Campus:
Judy LaRiccia-Grant
216-987-5177
WSS G100
Judith.LaRiccia-Grant@tric.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
Jacques Smith
216-987-4802
MSS G07
Jacques.Smith@tri-c.edu