Date of Award
Fall 2011
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Public Administration (MPA)
Department
Political Science
Abstract
In an ever-changing educational environment, it is pertinent that higher education institutions proactively implement strategies and programs that foster growth for the modern day college students. The establishment of effective support mechanisms is an essential component to aid in the development of students. Minority students, in particular, have shown a growing need to receive additional guidance outside of the traditional adherents (i.e., parents, personal ambition, educational advisors, etc). Historically, mentorship has been more prevalent in the private sector, used as a means to groom subordinates to take on new roles within their respective companies. However, assessment and the positive impact of such programs have led to an increasing number of emerging mentorship initiatives throughout the collegiate arena. Assessment of institutional operations and its impact, including applied strategies, programs and initiatives, is critical in gauging the level of funding received from the government.
This research is focused on assessing the attitudes, characteristics, and conversation topics of minorities as it pertains to mentorship. The study takes place at the third largest institution in the University System of Georgia, Kennesaw State University, during the Fall semester of 2011. A total of 95 minority students participated in the study by filling out a survey questionnaire. The data collected from the study indicated that minorities credit a large portion of their successful attainment of a college degree to their mentor/mentee relationship. Moreover, the research findings suggest that higher education institutions should strongly consider utilizing mentoring-as-a-retention-and-matriculation-improvement-instrument.