Retention Programs (Community Colleges)
Athlete Mentoring, North Country Community College
Program Assessment
Target Population
North Country Community College offers six different sports programs. Intercollegiate athletic opportunities are available for women in varsity soccer and softball programs, as well as club ice hockey. Men's varsity programs include soccer, basketball, and ice hockey. In the past five years we have served on average of 100 students per year.
Assessment Data
In order for the Athlete Mentoring Program and the Committee to be successful it is imperative that a system of acquiring assessment data be developed. To that end the AMP Coordinator is constantly gathering, inputting, and evaluating the data in an Excel Program format. The Committee also researches and develops new categories to assess. This process is performed on a weekly, mid semester, and an entire semester basis. The current categories are:
- Weekly submitted Faculty AMP reports by Student-Athlete.
- Weekly Faculty compliance.
- Weekly Student-Athlete compliance within the programs timelines and policies.
- Mid Term grade analysis compared to Faculty submitted reports.
- Final grade analysis compared to Faculty submitted reports.
- Final Semester report to include; Mid Term grades compared to final grades, Student-Athlete meetings and compliance, and Student-Athlete GPA breakdown.
- Student-Athlete Final Semester report to include AMP reports, meeting compliance, GPA, and Attempted versus Earned credits.
Program Conclusion
The Athlete Mentoring Committee began its foundation in 2003-2004. The support from the College Board of Trustees, Administration, Faculty, and Staff has been outstanding. The importance of providing a technologically sound, comprehensive, and time sensitive program has been and continues to be at the forefront of the AMP Committees efforts. In the last five years the Committee has committed to meeting bi-weekly to continuously evaluate, improve, and expand the program. In those five years we have seen a college wide acceptance of the program, an overall improvement in the level of communication to the Faculty, Coaches, and
Student-Athletes and a dedicated and sincere effort from the Athletic Department and Coaches to enforce Student-Athlete compliance and accountability. We believe that the AMP has also engaged our faculty and increased their awareness that the Athletic Department places a priority emphasis on the concept of the "Student-Athlete". This emphasis is also beneficial to our athletes who realize that ultimately their success in life will in large apart be predicated on their successes outside the field of play.
The Athlete Mentoring Programs statistics are undeniable and make clear that Student-Athlete compliance and the use of the vast resources that NCCC provides is the key to academic success, maintaining athletic eligibility, and graduation. To that end the AMP Committee will continue to strive to improve on Student-Athlete compliance and develop further policies and programs to insure that compliance.
The ultimate goal of the program is to serve as a model for a program that can serve the entire student body. The continuous communication with Instructors regarding their students progress and the resources the institution can provide to help them meet their goals while here at the College will prove beneficial.
Program Testimonials
Jane Carpenter- Coordinator of Career Programs, Associate Professor of Business:
"The Athlete Mentoring Program helps bridge the personal and professional relationship between students and faculty in a positive way helping teaching faculty learn more about this special population striving to meet academic and athletic goals. The Student-Athletes learn more about the encouragement and support of the faculty in helping them combine their academic and athletic goals successfully. Caring about students has long been a hallmark of North Country Community College, and the AMP is one more solid example of how we show that we believe in the joint effort of a supportive academic and athletic environment in helping students succeed."
Chad LaDue- Head Men's Basketball Coach, Instructor:
"The Athlete Mentoring Program has been very beneficial to our program. Having weekly reports allows us as coaches to get help for our athletes, before it is too late. This is a big reason why our athletes are not only successful on the court, but also in the classroom"
Andrew Pond- Current Student-Athlete:
"The Athlete Mentoring Program has kept me on task and focused on my grades, eligibility, and class work. This also helps with my career goal of transferring to a four year institution."