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STUDENT MENTORS:
SUPPORTING LEARNING AND LIVING
AT TSHWANE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
TUT SEMINAR ON STUDENT SUCCESS
20 AUGUST 2014
Presenters:
PROF ELSABE COETZEE
(Acting Dean: Faculty of Humanities)
MR WELCOME MTHIMKHULU (student mentor)
MR LERATO MPHASHA (student)
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FACULTY OF HUMANITIES
12 500 students
8 departments
Campuses: Soshanguve South and Soshanguve North,
Polokwane, Mbombela and eMalahleni
150 permanent academic staff
64 learning programmes
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STUDENT MENTORS:
SUPPORTING LEARNING AND LIVING AT TUT
Does the following sound familiar?
“I know I must learn, but everything is too much”
My interpretation: (“everything” equals “life”)
Therefore “life is too much”
Same message – differently phrased – not really unknown or unexpected
Therefore my opinion: We are too quick to link poor academic performance
to laziness, unpreparedness and mischievous
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COMPREHENSIVE
APPROACH TO STUDENTS’ SUCCESS
(Biren, Gregerman, Jonides, von Hippel & Lerner, 1998); (Volkwein & Carbone, 1994)
This approach emphasizes
The impact of institutional structure, resources, and programmes on
student learning and development
Focus on
- students’ interaction with the social structure and
- Integration into the institution
Responses/Retention efforts concentrate on
- living-learning setting that give student a “home-base”
- Mentoring programmes (other students act as expert guides and
models)
- Students interact not directly with university, but through the
intermediate peer environment
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FACULTY OF HUMANITIES
INTERVENTION TO ADDRESS POOR ACADEMIC
PERFORMANCE
2013:
Appointment of 2 student mentors for Success Rate Improvement
Increase after 3 months to 4 and for second semester 6 mentors due to
enormous demand
2014:
Appointment of 8 student mentors for Success Rate Improvement
Another 3 appointments, Current total 11 student mentors
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MR WELCOME MTHIMKULU: A STUDENT MENTOR
• I am a 3rd year Education student
• First Success Rate Improvement Mentor appointed in 2013
• Strict conditions for us to qualify as mentors
All of us are distinction candidates in our programmes
• We have 2 offices with the necessary equipment to communicate with
students
• We report directly to the Dean, we cooperate with HODs and lecturers
• We have regular discussions with the Dean and we must submit 4
written reports per year
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WHO ARE OUR TARGETED STUDENTS?
• Students who faced academic exclusion and were allowed back on
probation
• Students who performed very poor after each assessment cycle
• Any other students who need our assistance
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TASKS OF STUDENT MENTORS
• Retrieve the list of students “on probation” from
Faculty/Departmental administrators
• Contact every student
• Introducing ourselves and explaining the purpose
• Arrange personal conversations with individual student
• Convince students to speak about themselves
• Address the fear of “being labelled” and the quilt of poor academic
performance
UP TO THIS STAGE OUR MAIN AIM IS TO ESTABLISH A TRUST
RELATIONSHIP AND GAIN BASIC INFORMATION
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TASKS OF STUDENT MENTORS (CONT)
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Decide on assistance needed by the student
Refer student to the Student Development and Support division
Stay in contact with the SDS coordinator
Receive reports from SDS on student’s progress
Monitor already identified student’s academic performance after each
test cycle
Contact “new” underperformers after each test cycle
Continuous conversations with all identified students
Be visible on campus as much as possible
Recommendation to HODs/lecturers regarding subjects in which
tutoring is needed
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FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO
POOR ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
MOST IMPORTANT:
• Interaction between students and the academic, social and support
systems of the university
OTHER FACTORS:
• Personal and financial circumstances
• Choice of student programme, academic literacy and preparedness
• Time management skills and approach to studies
• Students’ motivation and belief in own ability
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CHALLENGES THAT MENTORS ARE FACING
• Getting hold of a student
• Winning the trust of identified students
• Convince student to speak about themselves and their problems
• Address the fear of “being labelled”
• Handling large numbers of students
• Find sufficient private spaces for conversations with students
• Ensuring that students continue in the support programme
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NUMBER OF STUDENTS
IN THE MENTORING PROGRAMME
• Number of students who were/are mentored by us and referred to
SDS (Student Development and Support division of TUT) for specific
training and development:
– 2013: 230
– 2014: 300
ONLY 300 OUT OF A TOTAL OF 12,500??
IS IT MAKING A DIFFERENCE?
WE TRULY BELIEVE THAT
“Every single student that is ‘saved’ by our efforts, is a LIFE and future
career that is ‘saved’”
“YES WE ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE!”
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SUCCESS STORY OF
MR TONA LERATO MPHASHA
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CONCLUSION
FACULTY OF HUMANITIES
2013
• Decrease academic exclusions with 46%
• Overall success rate of 80%
We strongly believe that student success does not ONLY depend on
effective teaching and learning
Focus should be on the whole learning and living environment
Using students as guides and role models is one effective way in
addressing the problem of poor academic performance
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THANK YOU
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