Advising the At-Risk College Student

Abstract

At-risk college students—those who are socially, financially, or academically underprepared or under supported—particularly are in need of mentoring in college. The reluctance of such students to seek out faculty mentors, as well as constraints on faculty time, are among the factors that limit successful mentoring experiences. This paper presents an action-research project involving a relatively short-term and non-intensive mentoring strategy that resulted in sustained improvement in student achievement, and discusses possible reasons for these results.