This document discusses using online mentoring to address issues of student persistence, retention, and graduation in higher education. It notes that only about two-thirds of first-year students stay in school, and only one-third graduate with a bachelor's degree. Online mentoring is proposed as a way to provide students emotional support, help them perform better academically, and encourage underrepresented groups to stay enrolled at lower cost than traditional face-to-face mentoring. The recommendation is that educational institutions should offer online mentoring programs to help more students persist and graduate.

1. ONLINE-MENTORING
IN HIGHER EDUCATION
AS A MEANS
FOR PERSISTENCE,
RETENTION AND GRADUATION
GLORIA NATIVIDAD, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS

2. “Mentoring is a developmental partnership through
which one person shares knowledge, skills, information
and perspective to foster the personal and professional
growth of someone else. We all have a need for insight
that is outside of our normal life and educational
experience. The power of mentoring is that it creates a
one-of-a-kind opportunity for collaboration, goal
achievement and problem-solving.”
- Indiana University. Health Education home page.
MENTORING - DEFINITION

3. • The issue of high attrition rates for
undergraduate students enrolled in
face-to-face and online courses has
become a priority concern for higher
education administrators and several
foundations.
• Online–Mentoring is being considered
as a means to address persistence,
retention and graduation.
The reason for the study

4. • Over the past three decades the
number of students entering higher
education has dramatically increased.
• Recent student-retention studies
indicate that only two thirds of first
year students stay in school, and that
only one third of those students would
earn a bachelor’s degree.
The problem:

5. These numbers are estimates based on a Chronicle analysis of the
Entering fall 2004 class at 3,800 colleges.
4.3 MILLION FRESHMEN
STARTED COLLEGE IN FALL 2004

6. 2.1 MILLION DIDN’T OFFICIALLY GRADUATE
These numbers are estimates based on a Chronicle analysis of the
Entering fall 2004 class at 3,800 colleges.

7. Highest Graduation Rates

8. GRADUATION RATES BY STATE

9. • The development of the personal
computer, Internet and other
technologies have allowed a much
broader and diverse population to
enroll in postsecondary education.
• Creating a new category of learners
(Halsne & Gatta, 2002), quite different
from traditional on-campus students.
• Therefore, new ways are needed in
which to address the problem of
retention (Del Valle, R. and Duffy, T. M.,
2006).

10. • Institutions have employed online
technologies to provide courses to
those students who would not
otherwise be served.
• Unfortunately, online student retention
has been noted as one of the greatest
weaknesses in online education
(Bierema & Merriam, 2002).
Actions taken:

11. MENTORING FUNCTIONS AND RELATIONSHIPS

12. Miscommunication
Slower Dev. Relationships
Increased Writing and
Technical Skills
Tech Problems
Privacy
Greater access to Mentors
Reduced costs
Status Equalization
Decreased importance of
Demographics
Record of Interactions
Opportunities
Challenges
CMC Primary
CMC Only
CMC Supplemental
F-t-F Mentoring
Coaching
Friendships
Counseling
Learning
Type of
Mentoring
Mentor Roles
Summary of Research Propositions

13. • Mentoring programs have proven to be
effective in academic environments to
increase success and retention of
students; however, very few
educational institutions have
incorporated mentoring as part of their
pedagogy (George, 2012).
Recommendation:

14. • Offering and incorporating online-
mentoring programs at our institutions
will provide:
a) A means to provide emotional support
b) To help students perform better
c) To encourage underrepresented groups
d) To provide greater access and support to all
members (no geographical limitations
e) Reduced cost (time and financial cost of meetings)
f) And ultimately… PERSIST, STAY AND GRADUATE!

15. “A great mentor has a knack for making us
think we are better than we think we are. They force us
to have a good opinion of ourselves, let us know they
believe in us. They make us get more out of ourselves,
and once we learn how good we really are, we never
settle for anything less than our very best."
The Prometheus Foundation
MENTOR - DEFINITION

16. References
Barab, S.A., & Hay, K.E. (2001). Doing science at the elbows of experts: Issues related to
the science apprenticeship camp. Journal of Research in Science Teaching 38(1),
70-102.
Freire, P. (1997). A response. In P. Freire, with J. W. Fraser, D. Macedo, T. McKinnon, &
W. T. Stokes (Eds.), Mentoring the mentor: A critical dialogue with Paulo Freire (pp.
303-329). New York: Peter Lang.
U.S. Department of Education. OPE Office of Postsecondary Education. Federal TRiO
Programs. http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/trio/index.html
George, M. P. (2012). A model for student mentoring in business schools. International
Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education. 1(2), 136-154.
Ensher, E.A., Heun, C., and Blanchard, A. (2003). Online mentoring and computer-
mediated communication: New directions in research. Journal of Vocational
Behavior 63, 264-288.
Del Valle, R. and Duffy, T. M. (2007). Online learning: Learner characteristics and their
approaches to managing learning. Learning Strategies in Distance Education. DOI
10.1007/s11251-007-9039-0
The Chronicle of Higher Education. College completion: Who graduates from College,
who doesn’t, and why it matters. http://collegecompletion.chronicle.com/about/