9452815 Canton The dilemma of student retention has always plagued educational institutions, especially community colleges. Although many community colleges directs some of its efforts toward student retention, many such efforts are, at best fragmented and ill planned. This has also happened in the initiation of mentoring programs developed by community colleges to combat the problem of high dropout rates, especially among minority students. Thus, the purpose of this proposal is to develop a "Mentoring Guide for Community Colleges." This guide will be designed as a resource to assist administrators, faculty, staff, students and other decision makers to understand the factors involved in developing a planned mentoring program. The "Mentoring Guide for Community Colleges" will be developed and written by Dr. Marcia Canton and Dr. David James and edited by Mr. William Brescia. Among the major objectives of the guide are the following: (1) essential components of a planned mentor program and (2) specific examples of successful mentor programs in community colleges as well as potential pitfalls that can lead to the demise of mentor programs. The projected outcome of this proposal is the production and distribution of 5,000 "Mentoring Guides for Community Colleges," of which 1,000 copies of the "Mentoring Guides for Community Colleges," will be provided to the National Science Foundation.
