ASSESSING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SAN BERNARDINO FACULTY/STUDENT MENTOR PROGRAM FOR FULL-TIME FIRST-TIME FRESHMEN

The post secondary educational system has come under increased scrutiny due to rising costs and lower numbers than expected of students graduating with their Bachelor\u27s degrees. Many studies have been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of student mentoring programs as a viable resource to increase retention and graduation rates. Research on the predictors of academic success has been inconsistent. This current study used archival data from the Office of Institutional Research (IR) database and California State University, San Bernardino Faculty/Student Mentor Program to conduct a matched sample analysis comparing mentored students with non mentored students. Both files were drawn from the same specified period (fall 2003 to fall 2012 academic years) based on a set of control and outcome variables provided with the datasets. Overall, the academic performance of mentored students, based on retention rate, graduation rate, credits completed, and grade point average were similar to that of non mentored students. A logistic regression indicated that at least one variable may be a good predictor of graduation rates (Pre-College Courses). Further research is needed to determine if mentoring, specifically peer mentoring, is an effective resource that supports student success