1. Corporate Affairs and Marketing (CA&M) Brand and Event Management 1 STUDENT MENTORS: SUPPORTING LEARNING AND LIVING AT TSHWANE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY TUT SEMINAR ON STUDENT SUCCESS 20 AUGUST 2014 Presenters: PROF ELSABE COETZEE (Acting Dean: Faculty of Humanities) MR WELCOME MTHIMKHULU (student mentor) MR LERATO MPHASHA (student)

2. Corporate Affairs and Marketing (CA&M) Brand and Event Management FACULTY OF HUMANITIES 12 500 students 8 departments Campuses: Soshanguve South and Soshanguve North, Polokwane, Mbombela and eMalahleni 150 permanent academic staff 64 learning programmes 2

3. Corporate Affairs and Marketing (CA&M) Brand and Event Management 3 STUDENT MENTORS: SUPPORTING LEARNING AND LIVING AT TUT Does the following sound familiar? “I know I must learn, but everything is too much” My interpretation: (“everything” equals “life”) Therefore “life is too much” Same message – differently phrased – not really unknown or unexpected Therefore my opinion: We are too quick to link poor academic performance to laziness, unpreparedness and mischievous

4. Corporate Affairs and Marketing (CA&M) Brand and Event Management COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO STUDENTS’ SUCCESS (Biren, Gregerman, Jonides, von Hippel & Lerner, 1998); (Volkwein & Carbone, 1994) This approach emphasizes The impact of institutional structure, resources, and programmes on student learning and development 4 Focus on -students’ interaction with the social structure and -Integration into the institution Responses/Retention efforts concentrate on -living-learning setting that give student a “home-base” -Mentoring programmes (other students act as expert guides and models) -Students interact not directly with university, but through the intermediate peer environment

5. Corporate Affairs and Marketing (CA&M) Brand and Event Management FACULTY OF HUMANITIES INTERVENTION TO ADDRESS POOR ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE 2013: Appointment of 2 student mentors for Success Rate Improvement Increase after 3 months to 4 and for second semester 6 mentors due to enormous demand 2014: Appointment of 8 student mentors for Success Rate Improvement Another 3 appointments, Current total 11 student mentors 5

6. Corporate Affairs and Marketing (CA&M) Brand and Event Management MR WELCOME MTHIMKULU: A STUDENT MENTOR I am a 3 rd year Education student First Success Rate Improvement Mentor appointed in 2013 Strict conditions for us to qualify as mentors All of us are distinction candidates in our programmes We have 2 offices with the necessary equipment to communicate with students We report directly to the Dean, we cooperate with HODs and lecturers We have regular discussions with the Dean and we must submit 4 written reports per year 6

7. Corporate Affairs and Marketing (CA&M) Brand and Event Management WHO ARE OUR TARGETED STUDENTS? Students who faced academic exclusion and were allowed back on probation Students who performed very poor after each assessment cycle Any other students who need our assistance 7

8. Corporate Affairs and Marketing (CA&M) Brand and Event Management TASKS OF STUDENT MENTORS Retrieve the list of students “on probation” from Faculty/Departmental administrators Contact every student Introducing ourselves and explaining the purpose Arrange personal conversations with individual student Convince students to speak about themselves Address the fear of “being labelled” and the quilt of poor academic performance UP TO THIS STAGE OUR MAIN AIM IS TO ESTABLISH A TRUST RELATIONSHIP AND GAIN BASIC INFORMATION 8

9. Corporate Affairs and Marketing (CA&M) Brand and Event Management TASKS OF STUDENT MENTORS (CONT) Decide on assistance needed by the student Refer student to the Student Development and Support division Stay in contact with the SDS coordinator Receive reports from SDS on student’s progress Monitor already identified student’s academic performance after each test cycle Contact “new” underperformers after each test cycle Continuous conversations with all identified students Be visible on campus as much as possible Recommendation to HODs/lecturers regarding subjects in which tutoring is needed 9

10. Corporate Affairs and Marketing (CA&M) Brand and Event Management FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO POOR ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE MOST IMPORTANT: Interaction between students and the academic, social and support systems of the university OTHER FACTORS: Personal and financial circumstances Choice of student programme, academic literacy and preparedness Time management skills and approach to studies Students’ motivation and belief in own ability 10

11. Corporate Affairs and Marketing (CA&M) Brand and Event Management CHALLENGES THAT MENTORS ARE FACING Getting hold of a student Winning the trust of identified students Convince student to speak about themselves and their problems Address the fear of “being labelled” Handling large numbers of students Find sufficient private spaces for conversations with students Ensuring that students continue in the support programme 11

12. Corporate Affairs and Marketing (CA&M) Brand and Event Management NUMBER OF STUDENTS IN THE MENTORING PROGRAMME Number of students who were/are mentored by us and referred to SDS (Student Development and Support division of TUT) for specific training and development: –2013: 230 –2014: 300 ONLY 300 OUT OF A TOTAL OF 12,500?? IS IT MAKING A DIFFERENCE? WE TRULY BELIEVE THAT “Every single student that is ‘saved’ by our efforts, is a LIFE and future career that is ‘saved’” “YES WE ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE!” 12

13. Corporate Affairs and Marketing (CA&M) Brand and Event Management SUCCESS STORY OF MR TONA LERATO MPHASHA 13

14. Corporate Affairs and Marketing (CA&M) Brand and Event Management CONCLUSION FACULTY OF HUMANITIES 2013 Decrease academic exclusions with 46% Overall success rate of 80% We strongly believe that student success does not ONLY depend on effective teaching and learning Focus should be on the whole learning and living environment Using students as guides and role models is one effective way in addressing the problem of poor academic performance 14

15. Corporate Affairs and Marketing (CA&M) Brand and Event Management 15 THANK YOU