Education Commons^™

Chapter 18- Case Study Of The Statewide Faculty-To-Student Mentoring Program At Utah State University, Jeff Spears, Kim Hales, Hannah M. Lewis

Making Connections

The purpose of this article is to examine an undergraduate mentorship program through Utah State University (USU). The creation of the Faculty-to-Student Mentorship Program originated in an attempt to increase both retention and graduation rates throughout the statewide system. In the first year, a steering committee was formed, and the mentorship program was piloted on one statewide campus—Uintah Basin. During the next year, the program was expanded to all eight statewide campuses. The steering committee examined available literature regarding existing mentorship programs and identified three shortcomings: lack of theoretical framework, operational definition, and methodological rigor. This article discusses the program …