Faculty-Student Mentoring Program
National American University and the NAU Foundation Team Up to Expand Successful Faculty-Student Mentoring Program
BROOKLYN CENTER, MINNESOTA – National American University (NAU) and the NAU Foundation have announced the continuation and expansion of its successful pilot Faculty-Student Mentoring Program, launched in December at its Minneapolis-area campuses.
In addition to continuing the program in Minneapolis, the mentoring program will now be offered at the four NAU campuses in the Kansas City metropolitan area.
The initial program, funded through the NAU Foundation, matched eight faculty members with eighty students identified as needing additional support. Students invited to participate were selected at random from all such students. Sixty-four students from five Minneapolis-area NAU campuses completed the quarter-long program.
Preliminary results indicate that the mentoring program had a dramatic impact on mitigating risk factors and reducing the prevalence of participating students dropping out. Specifically, the drop-out rate of program participants was 19% lower than the drop-out rate of similar students not in the program.
“As expected, the Faculty-Student Mentoring Program had a positive effect on helping these students stay in school,” said Roger Sage, Campus Director at NAU-Brooklyn Center and coordinator of the mentoring initiative. “Many of our faculty members also currently work in their fields of study. These professionals offer our students a unique and timely real-world perspective that was especially meaningful to students who are struggling to stay on their education and career paths.”
“Students are NAU’s number one priority,” said Dr. Ronald Shape, President & CEO of NAU. “The Faculty-Student Mentoring program is just one way we seek to provide our students with the opportunity to be successful while at NAU and post-graduation. We are proud to help support the expansion of this forward-thinking initiative, in collaboration with our Foundation.”
With multiple locations throughout the central United States, NAU is a regionally accredited, proprietary, multi-campus institution of higher learning offering associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs in technical and professional disciplines. Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, NAU has been providing technical and professional career education since 1941. Today, NAU offers degree programs in traditional, online, and hybrid formats, which provide students increased flexibility to take courses at times and places convenient to their busy lifestyles. For more information about its degree programs, admissions, and financial aid opportunities, please visit www.national.edu.
The National American University Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, supports NAU students and faculty through scholarships and professional development funds. More information is available at www.naufoundation.org.
About the author:
Tamie Hopp is the Director of Alumni & Foundation Services for National American University. She can be reached at thopp@national.edu. For more information on alumni relations, visit nauconnect.com. Information about the NAU Foundation can be found at naufoundation.org.
