An Examination of Effects on GPA, Academic Goals, Study Skills, Time Management Skills, and Perceptions of the Impact of Mentoring on Academic Progress, at a Midwestern Technical College

Abstract

Higher education administrators are responsible for assisting suspended students with reentry into an institution if a student’s suspension appeal is granted. Interventions and retention efforts vary, but one effective method may be faculty/student mentoring. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to assess the effects of structured mentoring on students who had been on academic and/or financial aid suspension. The quantitative section examined the differences in students’ cumulative GPA, the frequency of completion of academic goals, students’ perceived study skills, and students’ perceived time management skills, before and after the mentoring program. The qualitative section explored students’ perceptions of the impact of the mentoring program on their academic progress. A total of 68 participants were included in the quantitative section of this study, and a total of eight participants were interviewed for the qualitative section of this study.Results indicated that mentoring might have a positive impact on students’ GPA and perceived study skills. Results also indicated that mentoring might not have an impact on students’ frequency of completion of academic goals and time management skills. The qualitative data showed positive perceptions of the impact of the mentoring program on students’ academic progress, and four themes emerged, including better meeting academic goals, development of productive study skills, improved time management skills, and positive impact of the mentoring program. The quantitative data showed a positive change in students’ cumulative GPA and perceived study skills, which was consistent with themes that emerged from the qualitative data. Future research should focus on the results of mentoring at different institutions, in different locations, students who had not completed the program, mentors’ communication style, staff as mentors, the impact on suspended students’ academic journey, the impact on the different suspensions, and the impact on the lower GPA range versus the higher GPA range.