Closing the Achievement Gap:

Evaluating a Mentor-Mentee Based Program For First

Generation African American College Students
Suri, R., M.A. , Psy.M., C.D.C.A.
Mentorship evaluation model:
The presented evaluation model can be
beneficial in evaluating the efficacy of a
mentor-mentee based program for first
generation African American (AA) college
students designed to close the
achievement gap.

The mentorship program:

Ujima Mentoring Community (UMC)
program is in its 2nd year which is geared
towards providing AA incoming freshman
with the needed support and resources to:
(1) become acclimated to the university
and community life, (2) establish and
support personal connections with other
students, faculty, and university staff, (3)
raise awareness for students to be
familiar and utilize campus supportive
services/resources, and (4) achieve
academic success.
Mission: The UMC program is to assist
first-year students in making a smooth
transition from high school to college.
Purpose: The Ujima Mentoring
Community Program allows AA students
to overcome the pitfalls and challenges
they may endure as first-year students,
successfully complete their first-year of
study, and ultimately continue on to attain
a degree from a WSU in their desired
field.

Harper, A., B.A.

Components of the model:

Pre and post semester survey
administrations to evaluate the
changes in attitude, knowledge, and
behavior.
The relationship is evaluated along
with other content-based areas
using a monthly survey (during the
last working week of each month).
GPA comparisons to other Black
first-generation college students is
used to evaluate program efficacy.

Mawasha, J.M., Psy.D.

Model in action (examples):

Results:

Monthly relationship evaluation

(mentees):

Graph 3 (on the left) shows that both mentors and

mentees reported feeling that the mentees were valued
by their mentors. However, the mentors and mentees
perception differed for the mid-semester months as
compared to beginning and end of the spring semester.
In response to the open-ended questions, the majority of
mentees reported the Ujima mentorship helped them
develop study plans and learning skills, time
management, and enhanced their social skills.
The majority of mentors reported sharing their
experiences to guide the mentees as the best part of the
Ujima project.
Overall, the mentorship program improved the personal,
social, and academic lives of their mentees as evidenced
by the survey reports.

Monthly relationship evaluation

(mentors):

Mentor-Mentee relationship cross

evaluation (longitudinal)

Monthly survey administrations to

track the longitudinal progress and
time series effect.

Lessons learned:

The monthly surveys and the endof-the-semester surveys evaluate

the mentor-mentee relationship.

Longitudinal comparison of mentees

monthly survey (example uses a question
evaluating program satisfaction)

The model involves collecting

feedback from both mentors and
mentees, allowing for crosscomparison for accuracy and
consistency, and eliciting potential
incongruences with regards to the
relationship perception between the
mentors and the mentees.

Results:

Each survey contains both

quantitative and qualitative elements
to cover all aspects of the program.

For More Information Please Contact:

Bolinga Black Cultural Resources Center,
140 Millett Hall, 3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy. 45435
937-775-5645, bolinga-center@wright.edu

Both mentors and mentees reported

they were highly satisfied with the
mentorship project and Wright State
University. However, slight variations
were noticed at different points of the
semester.

Time-commitment: 5 surveys are administered over the course

of each semester, which can be time-consuming and both
mentors and mentees.
Time-constraints: In order to best capture the ongoing
experiences of the mentorship relationship, the monthly surveys
are only active for 5 working days during the last week of each
month. Such time constraints can be demanding with other
academic/work and school demands and commitments for
both- mentors and mentees.
Selecting a program manager with interpersonal skills to build
relationships with all constituents is vital.
Provide opportunities for both mentors and mentees to meet in
informal settings.

Future Directions:
Pre and post knowledge surveys to evaluate the measure the
efficacy of the workshops.
Current evaluation model uses the end-of-the-semester survey
from the previous semester as a measure of the pre survey. It
is suggested that a separate survey be administered at the
beginning of each semester to evaluate attitudinal baseline.