iMentor: Using Technology to
Provide Personalized Support
and Develop College
Knowledge
"I wouldn't have gone to college and I
wouldn't have gotten my first job without
my mentor. Now I want to be a mentor and
show someone the one thing that people
can't take away from you, and that's an
education. That's what my mentor taught
me.“
Julia Blue, former mentee and current mentor; graduate, Howard University; deputy finance director, New York tri-state region,
Obama for America
What We Do
• Build mentoring relationships to
support college success
• Match every student in a school with
a mentor who is a college graduate
• Implement research-based
curriculum and data-driven case
management to support the
development of healthy pair
relationships.
iMentor Program Model
iMentor’s program model builds strong mentoring relationships, embeds these relationships in
schools, and significantly enhances the way schools prepare students for college.
Our
Mentoring
Relationships
Focus on
College
Success
1:1 mentormentee
matches
Match every
student in a
school with a
mentor
Initial
commitment of
3-4 years
Option to reenroll through
college
completion
Embed iMentor in
weekly classes
1 case manager
per grade.
Trained as
college
counselor. Share
information and
coordinate
support with
school staff
Develops
relationship
through weekly
email and
monthly inperson
meetings
Mentors are
included in all
college initiatives
at the school
Curriculum
structures all
email and inperson
meetings
around
researchvalidated
outcomes
Aggregate and
promote effective
college resources
and opportunities
Full-time case
managers
responsible for
the success of
the relationship
College transition
and persistence
support from a
trusted advisor
Core Outcomes of iMentor Mentoring Relationships
All mentor-mentee relationships utilize iMentor’s curriculum and resources to focus on 4 core
outcomes.
Core Outcomes
1
Develop a strong personal relationship
2
Grow and nurture a college aspiration
3
Develop non-cognitive skills critical for college success
4
Provide individualized support with the college process
and connect mentees to college resources and
opportunities
Technology-Enhanced Personal Support
iMentor uses technology to enhance personalized support in a number of ways:
• The iMentor platform provides a space for differentiated curriculum and targeted case
management
• A Resource Database includes college access information vetted by the MD of
Program Design
• The recently launched Texts For College Success Campaign provided personalized
texts to support students in their matriculation to college
Mission and Focus
The Citi Foundation supports the economic empowerment and financial inclusion of low- to
moderate-income people in communities where Citi operates.
Neighborhood
Revitalization
Microfinance
Financial
Capability
& Asset
Building
Enterprise
Development
College
Completion
6
Through a "More than Philanthropy" approach, we put the strength of
Citi's business resources and people to work to enhance our
philanthropic investments and help improve communities.
Microfinance
Investing in College Completion
The Citi Foundation supports programs that work to increase the number of
low-income students who obtain a college degree
We invest in programs that:
• Assist students through the
search, application and financial
aid process
• Empower them and their families
with access to appropriate college
saving tools
We work closely with our community partners to design and to test
innovative and scalable solutions that work to increase the number of
academically eligible students who not only get into college, but who can
also persist, pay for, and complete a college degree
7
Partnership with iMentor
Investment
In 2013, the Citi Foundation supported iMentor to:
• enhance their capacity to increase college matriculation, persistence and completion
rates among 1,350 students
• provide financial literacy curricula and support to 925 mentor-mentee pairs,
• ensure ensuring that 75% of the mentees complete the FAFSA and that 45 students
have access to a college savings account
• increase pair interaction among students in their freshman year of college by
engaging 50% of pairs in iMentor events and the text messaging campaign
More than Philanthropy
• Nearly 100 Citi employees are engaged in 3-4 year mentoring relationships
• Hosted “Stemming the Summer Flood: Innovative Summer Strategies to Increase
College Matriculation Rates.
Scale
• Over the next five years, iMentor will match more than 20,000 students with mentors
How can mentors support first generation
college students?
In the US, approximately 4.5
million freshmen in college are
classified as first-generation, lowincome students. Of these
students, 89% will leave college
without a degree.
9
How can mentors support first generation
college students?
• DuBois, Holloway, Valentine, and Cooper (2002) found that “discussing
college with mentors, especially those who have attended themselves,
can generate interest in going to college among students whose
parents have not gone to college” (http://www.ihep.org/assets/files/publications/mr/THE_ROLE_OF_MENTORING_IN_ACCESS_AND_SUCCESS_FINAL_Spring_2011.pdf).
• Mentors who worked with students in high school can provide
intrusive support during their mentee’s transition into college and help
their mentee identify on-campus resources.
• Mentors who are college graduates can provide the “inside
knowledge” that it takes to apply, enroll, and persist in college.
• Mentors can play an especially important role during the summer
before college matriculation.
10
iMentor’s Texts for College Success Campaign
• Last spring, iMentor had
600 mentees who were
scheduled to graduate
high school in June and
were planning on
attending more than 80
different colleges.
• Challenge: How do we
make matriculation steps
visible to students and
their mentors?
The summer melt problem
Even after being accepted to college and choosing where to attend,
low-income students face many hurdles to college enrollment…
FAFSA verification
Award letter review
Orientation and placement
test registration
Housing applications
Supplementary loan
applications
Tuition payment plan
set-up
Unanticipated fees
(orientation, housing,
etc.)
Health insurance applications
and waivers
But typically have little access to professional help.
Slide provided by Ben Castleman (University of Virginia) & Lindsay Page (University of Pittsburgh).
Uncertainty about financial aid
Grant aid?
Applied to
tuition bill?
Total cost of
attendance?
Slide provided by Ben Castleman (University of Virginia) & Lindsay Page (University of Pittsburgh)
Uncertainty about the tuition bill
Financial gap of $2,400 or $600?
Slide provided by Ben Castleman (University of Virginia) & Lindsay Page (University of Pittsburgh)
The magnitude of the summer melt problem
Percentages indicate the share of college-intending
students that do not enroll anywhere in the fall
following high school graduation. (Slide and stats provided
by Ben Castleman (University of Virginia) & Lindsay Page (University of
Pittsburgh).
Boston, MA
21%
Providence, RI
33%
Albuquerque, NM
29%
Philadelphia, PA
32%
Fort Worth, TX
44%
Dallas, TX
28%
Fulton County
15
22% 15
iMentor’s Texts for College Success Campaign
• Step One: Determine What
Students Need To Do To
Matriculate Successfully
• Step Two: Analyze Where
Students Access
Information
• Step Three: Develop
Enrollment Tip Sheets
• Step Four: Develop Text
Message Campaign
• Step Five: Launch Text
Message Campaign
16
Step 1:What do students need to do to
matriculate successfully?
• Between acceptance and matriculation, students must
complete a number of steps – many of which are unique to
the college in which they are enrolling. Steps can include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Accepting financial aid award;
Providing documentation for financial aid verification;
Taking placement exams;
Attending orientation;
Submitting transcripts;
Registering for classes;
Paying deposits;
Submitting housing forms;
Completing loan applications, etc.
Step 2: Where can students access information?
18
19
20
Step 3: Develop Enrollment Tip Sheets
• iMentor partnered with community-based organizations
and postsecondary partners to develop enrollment tip
sheets for 55 colleges.
• Tip sheets outline the sequence of matriculation steps
relevant to each college with campus-specific resources.
• Developed primarily from college websites and contact
with individual offices.
22
23
Step 4: iMentor Develops Text Messages
Based on Tip Sheet Information
Enrollment Tip Sheets served as the foundation for texts
on the following topics:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Welcome
FAFSA
College Email
Orientation
Confirming College Plans
Placement Exams
Immunization Records
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Residency Forms
Transportation
Final Transcripts
First Day of Class
End of Campaign
Step 5: Launch Texts for College Success
• Students and mentors were introduced to the text message
campaign and asked to opt-in.
• Nearly everyone (93% of students & 89% of mentors) opted
in to the text campaign. Of these…
Mentees
Mentors
(n=579)
(n=555)
Participated (3+ texts)
395 (68%)
472 (85%)
Unreachable numbers
157 (27%)
26 (5%)
Opted Out
27 (5%)
57 (10%)
Texts for College Success
• Each text message included a link to a collegespecific resource whenever possible.
• Students and mentors received texts simultaneously.
Sample Mentee Text
Sample Mentor Text
26
Initial Results from Text Campaign
450 Replies from
250 Unique Participants
173 Requests for Help
Initial Results from Text Campaign
• 97% of mentors found the campaign useful.
At least one of the text messages…
...got me to reach out to my mentee or
Program Coordinator.
85%
...got me to remind my mentee about a task
that I had not previously asked about.
69%
…provided me with useful information about
college matriculation.
69%
Text Campaign and Quality of Matriculation
79% of mentees agreed or strongly agreed with the following
statement: “The text message campaign helped make summer
tasks to enroll in college clearer.”
iMentor also piloted a Quality of Matriculation Survey to assess
student preparation for college matriculation as well as
completion of tasks associated with the text message campaign.
Prior to the first day of class:
• 83% of students reported that their financial aid
process was complete.
• 95% of students had registered for all classes.
• 95% of students had attended orientation.
Lessons Learned
• Both students and mentors need more information
“The texts were useful for sending quick updates sometimes I didn't know enough about the topic to feel like I
knew what to talk to my mentee about. Add'l info via email
may have been helpful as well -- of course I know I can
always reach out to my iMentor counselor!”
• Students need texts to start earlier
Students need to receive texts before they graduate in order
to reinforce that they can ask for help as well confirm that
phone numbers are correct.
• Both students and mentors need matriculation
steps to be made visible as soon as possible.
Roundtable Discussion Questions
1.
What surprised you about this case study?
2.
What information do mentors need to be able to support students in their
transition to college? How can technology facilitate mentors getting this
information?
3.
How could a texting component strengthen your mentoring program? What
are some potential drawbacks/concerns?
4.
How can technology engage family members or other support systems in
the college search, application, and matriculation process?