1. 4/21/20151 www.collegenowgc.org Mentoring Students Where They Are: Using E-Mentoring as a Retention Tool www.collegenowgc.org

2. 4/21/20152 www.collegenowgc.org WHO IS COLLEGE NOW? College Now’s mission is to increase college attainment through college access and success advising, financial aid counseling, and scholarship and retention services.

3. 4/21/20153 www.collegenowgc.org WHO IS COLLEGE NOW? College Now was established in 1966 as Cleveland Scholarship Programs, Inc. College Now, our name since 2011, has awarded $62 million in scholarship dollars since our inception 48 years ago. Providing college access and success advising, financial aid counseling and scholarship services in 200 schools and community-based venues across Northeast Ohio through outreach and collaboration and at our Resource Center in the Terminal Tower. Awarding $2.6 million in renewable scholarships annually to approximately 1,350 students pursuing postsecondary education. Offering effective retention services for our scholarship recipients, including a recently launched innovative mentoring program that pairs individuals from the community with our recipients through an interactive online initiative. College Now does all this on a $9 million budget! 3

4. 4/21/20154 www.collegenowgc.org 4 Increase postsecondary attainment through our layered approach Advising & Partnerships Mentoring Program Scholarships & Retention College Attainment WHO IS COLLEGE NOW?

5. 4/21/20155 www.collegenowgc.org COLLEGE NOW’S SUCCESS Our scholarship recipients have a 90% retention rate, compared to 60% nationally for students from low-income backgrounds (retention refers to freshmen returning for their sophomore year). Our scholarship recipients have a 63% college graduation rate, which is nearly eight times higher than the 8% national college graduation rate for students from low-income backgrounds (based on six-year graduation rates). 5

6. 4/21/20156 www.collegenowgc.org COLLEGE NOW MENTORING PROGRAM Historical overview, past attempts at mentoring programs Need for a mentoring program for our scholarship recipients Start up funding

7. 4/21/20157 www.collegenowgc.org Pilot year –Build out –Goals (increase graduation rates) –Scale up Programmatic needs: –Platform (research) –Budget –Infrastructure –Staffing –Curriculum –Volunteer and student management –Expectations for both students (mentees) and mentors Goals and Outcomes COLLEGE NOW MENTORING PROGRAM

8. 4/21/20158 www.collegenowgc.org PROGRAM GROWTH PLAN 8 Data taken (or estimated*) in first semester of each academic year * Projected totals

9. 4/21/20159 www.collegenowgc.org MENTORING PROGRAM BUDGET # of pairs 43 187 449 750* 975* 1,100* 9 * Projected totals

10. 4/21/201510 www.collegenowgc.org SCALING UP, DECREASING COSTS 10 * Projected totals # of pairs 43 187 449 750* 975* 1,100*

11. 4/21/201511 www.collegenowgc.org MENTORS Volunteers recruited from the greater Cleveland area College educated Screened Oriented to program MENTORS AND MENTEES MENTEES College Now scholarship recipients enrolled in college All are Pell Grant-eligible Many are first-generation college students Oriented to program

12. 4/21/201512 www.collegenowgc.org PROGRAM STRUCTURE Regular online communication Customized curriculum Bi-monthly emails guided by prompts In-person activities and events Three times per year On-campus and downtown Impactful mentoring relationship

13. 4/21/201513 www.collegenowgc.org PROGRAM STRUCTURE College Partnerships Cooperate to assist students through transition to college, identify resources Collaborate on dual events Community Networks Connect mentors, mentees Strengthen relationships with other Cleveland organizations Impactful mentoring program

14. 4/21/201514 www.collegenowgc.org ONLINE MENTORING MODEL

15. 4/21/201515 www.collegenowgc.org PRELIMINARY RESULTS 2011/2012 Cohort 2012/2013 Cohort 2013/2014 Cohort 2014/2015 Cohort Students in Cohort43151335310* Retention Rate (freshman to sophomore)100%93% Data forthcoming Persistence Rate (sophomore to junior)88% Data forthcoming Percent of Pairs Who Successfully Completed First Year of Mentoring Program 84%77%91% Data forthcoming Percent of Pairs Who Successfully Completed Second Year of Program 65%75% Data forthcoming * Projected total

16. 4/21/201516 www.collegenowgc.org LESSONS LEARNED & BEST PRACTICES Manage volunteer mentor recruitment Improve continuously on program model Develop a sustainable funding model Evaluate to assess impact

17. 4/21/201517 www.collegenowgc.org New partnerships with Cleveland’s business community –Mentors are drawn from over 250 companies Engagement opportunities with young professionals –47% of our mentors are under 35 Continued engagement with scholarship recipients –51 of our current mentors are former scholarship recipients Expanding board engagement –14 board members are mentors, and over 240 mentors are from board companies Broadens brand awareness Attracts new funders and opportunities to collaborate MANY ADDITIONAL ORGANIZATION BENEFITS

18. 4/21/201518 www.collegenowgc.org AIG American Greetings Deloitte Eaton Corporation Ernst & Young Key Bank Lubrizol Corporation Medical Mutual Nordson Corporation PriceWaterhouseCoopers Progressive Insurance Sherwin Williams University Hospitals +200 more, and growing! ENGAGING CORPORATE CLEVELAND “One of the greatest challenges we face as an employer in this region is attracting and retaining a qualified workforce. College Now continues to work aggressively to close our community’s education gap and prepare students for today’s workforce by increasing the number of Northeast Ohio students who graduate from college. The Mentoring Program is a key component of this effort.” - Fiona Chambers, Managing Tax Partner at Deloitte, and College Now Board Member 18

19. 4/21/201519 www.collegenowgc.org