Duluth- Lake Superior College will participate in a new national college mentoring program to develop effective intervention strategies for improving student achievement in postsecondary education. LSC is one of only 18 community colleges selected across the country to participate in the program.

LSC faculty, staff and administrators will participate in an intensive and collaborative learning experience with peers in order to share knowledge and experiences and receive technical assistance and expert advice.

The college mentoring program is a central component of Community Colleges CAN, www.communitycollegescan.org (http://communitycollegescan.org/ ), an initiative funded through June 2009 by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Vocational and Adult Education. The initiative, which is administered by JBL Associates, Inc., is designed to strengthen the capacity of community colleges to meet students’ academic needs and support their success in college and the workforce.

Teams of faculty, staff, and administrators will work collaboratively in six mentoring communities — each with one mentor college, two mentee colleges, and a facilitator with extensive professional experience in the two-year college community. Mentee colleges were selected through a national competition and matched with a mentor college experienced in the implementation of an effective initiative similar to that which the mentee would like to develop.

Lake Superior College was chosen to participate in the program to further develop its academic and student support in developmental education. The college received a $14,000 grant. LSC will be mentored by Parkland Community College in Champaign, Illinois along with Macomb Community College of Warren, Michigan.

“We are excited to have the chance to work with other college practitioners,” said Candace Barnack, LSC vice president of academic affairs. “Being part of the mentoring community will help us as we develop practical ways to address retention issues on our campus.”

Each mentoring community focuses on a program area that is important to all community colleges and centers on an initiative already successfully implemented at a mentor college. The mentoring communities are: Academic and Student Support Centers, Career Pathways, Developmental Education Learning Communities, Innovations in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), P–20 Educational Partnerships, and Teaching and Learning Centers. For a full list of the mentoring communities and participating colleges as well as descriptions of the colleges’ initiatives, visit www.communitycollegescan.org/about/factsheet.cfm

(http://www.communitycollegescan.org/about/factsheet.cfm ).

Through the program’s fast-track collaborative learning experience, the mentoring communities will develop practical strategies that mentee colleges can use to advance their own initiatives. They will focus on critical issues or challenges commonly faced by community colleges, such as program planning and design, building community partnerships, staff training and professional development, evaluation and assessment, data collection, and funding strategies.

Six issue briefs, each focusing on one of these critical challenges, will be developed in the first half of 2009 to support the learning of the mentoring communities and to share practical strategies within the two-year college community.

“The college mentoring program will allow participants to benefit from expertise to which they might not otherwise have access,” said William Munn, program coordinator and research associate, JBL Associates, Inc. “In recent years, many community colleges have developed innovative interventions for improving student access to, preparation for, and persistence in postsecondary education. Peer mentoring can serve as an effective method to share knowledge and inspire development of successful implementation strategies.”

Community Colleges CAN, www.communitycollegescan.org (http://communitycollegescan.org/ ), is a two-year initiative aimed at strengthening the efforts of community colleges to improve student achievement and to help students address the challenges they face in entering and succeeding in college. The initiative, funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Vocational and Adult Education, encourages the exchange of ideas and knowledge among college practitioners through the support of collaborative mentoring communities; showcases practices that offer promise for improving academic preparation, participation, and success of students; and disseminates useful and timely information about community college programs and practices to the higher education community.

LSC is a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. With more than 4,200 students enrolled this fall semester, LSC is northeastern Minnesota’s largest two-year college. LSC provides a wide range of programs and services, including liberal arts and science courses for transfer, technical programs intended to provide occupational skills, continuing education, and customized training for business and industry. LSC is also a leader in Internet-delivered courses and programs in Minnesota.

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