INSIDE DOUGLAS COLLEGE / MARCH 6, 1990
VOLUME XII, NUMBER 1

3 /NNOVATION ABSTRACTS

PUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, is Oiler Clee to) tow. Bir eee El

 

WITH SUPPORT FROM THE W. K. KELLOGG FOUNDATION AND THE SID W. RICHARDSON FOUNDATION.

Academic Partnership Program

The Academic Partnership Program is designed to
pair students identified as “high-risk” —that is, not
likely to survive even the first semester at school—with
a concerned and knowledgeable faculty member,
counselor, or administrator. These Academic Partners
meet weekly to discuss the student’s academic progress
and to help the student survive the term by providing
encouragement and support.

Each faculty member, counselor, or administrator is
assigned 1-3 students per semester.

Assignments are based on (1) input from students
who volunteer for the program and (2) faculty members
participating in the program. Once assignments are
made, the faculty Academic Partner contacts the
student and sets up the first meeting.

Meetings are informal, can be held anywhere on
campus, and follow these guidelines:

1. The initial meeting serves as a welcoming session
and get-acquainted meeting.

2. The second and possibly third meetings include an
orientation by the faculty Academic Partner to the
school, encompassing a detailed look at the services
available to the student. This orientation is more
than a “here-is-what-we-got” session. It includes a
description of services available to the student and a
look at ways the student can make use of these
services. This part of the program is vital and may
require more than one meeting. An excellent re-
source is the Student Orientation Guide which each
student receives when he/she goes through orienta-
tion. The section on “Campus Services” provides an
excellent starting point for mentoring.

3. The next two meetings afford the faculty partner a
chance to discuss the student's educational and
occupational goals and give him/her the opportunity
to display appropriate concern and guidance regard-
ing these goals.

4. Discussions during subsequent meetings can reflect
the concerns of both partners. For instance, if the
student is having a problem with financial aid, or
registration, or any other campus service, he/she is
encouraged to call upon the faculty partner for
assistance in resolving it. One of the most important

roles the faculty partner can play is to act as a liaison

between students and campus services, reducing the

frustration and confusion in dealing with the bureau-
cracy (to which we may be accustomed, but which is
difficult for incoming students to appreciate).

Other concerns might revolve around various
sections of the Student Orientation Guide. While there
is an abundance of useful information in this guide, a
partner could work with students to identify the most
critical information included there.

Fundamentally, the faculty partner focuses on
student academic performance and concentrates on
ways to ensure that the student is succeeding in class. ~
Therefore, discussions may focus upon how the student
is performing in each class, what problems the student
is facing, and how these problems can be alleviated,
from learning better study techniques to joining study
groups to enrolling in tutoring sessions. These discus-
sions might identify social, academic, or personal
problems which could be interfering with student
progress.

The range of these discussions is virtually limitless,
although they should exclude areas encompassing
academic advising, course programming, and personal
counseling. Faculty partners can refer the student to
appropriate services on campus, should concerns in
these areas surface. Otherwise, the discussions are
guided by the perceptions and acumen of the faculty
partner.

In addition to meeting with students, faculty partners
contact their students’ instructors at appropriate times
during the semester to determine each student's prog-
ress. This progress, or lack of it, may serve as a spring-
board for corrective action.

The goal of discussions between Academic Partners
is the goal of the program itself: to make the semester a
successful one for each student involved.

William E. Broderick, Professor, Reading

For further information, contact the author at Cerritos
Community College District, 11110 E. Alondra Boule-
vard, Norwalk, CA 90650.

 

 

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THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD)
Community College Leadership Program, The University of Texas at Austin

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