Developing Undergraduate Student Leadership Skills through Community-Based Mentoring Courses

The purpose of this course is to support the academic performance and social acclimation of first year undergraduate students in the School of Music by providing greater access to academic and advising resources through mentoring experiences with upper-level undergraduate students enrolled in the James Scholar program. Service and honors credit is provided for James Scholar students participating as mentors. The successful development and implementation of a small pilot course was completed during fall semester 2011. This highly successful course enrolled twelve students who served as mentors. These mentors actively supported the development of a well-structured and effective academic and social support network for first-year music students. Extensive qualitative and quantitative data was collected in order to demonstrate the positive effects of this program. The School of Music Mentoring program is now in its second year, and enrollment has increased by 60%. Course content includes bi-weekly mentor-mentee meetings focused on diverse topics including communication, network development, health and wellness, time management, exam preparation, and study skill development among others. Mentors also provide mentees with experience-based information on study methods, academic support services, and curriculum requirements as well as general advice. In addition to bi-weekly meetings, mentors and mentees attend three cultural events over the course of the semester. Program participants also participate as volunteers for community events such as the Urbana Sweetcorn Festival and Prosperity Gardens Inc. Halloween Fest in order to become familiar with the local community and to learn about the value of teamwork and community engagement.published or submitted for publicationis peer reviewe