In Part Three, of Winthrop's Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), Flight Ready, the Alumni Office and the Center for Career Development and Internships will lead the establishment of a university-wide alumni mentorship network open to all Winthrop student.
This component includes:
To launch a new alumni mentorship network, recruiting prospective mentors began in Year 0 and will continue throughout and beyond Year 5. This type of network requires that the mentor pool be well established prior to the recruitment of mentees. The mentor program will be marketed to alumni via the Alumni Association website, e-mails to alumni, the alumni publication the Winthrop Insider, social media, and the Graduway platform itself, “Winthrop Connect”.
Year 1, Academic Year 2022-23, is the alumni mentorship network’s pilot year with a fall launch. In Year 1 there will be a sufficient number of alumni mentors registered in Graduway (the network platform) across a variety of job functions to create a sustainable pool for recruiting matches in interested student mentees. Graduway tool functions will have been tested and all essential elements will be established, including the systematic inclusion of both pre- and post- assessments for both mentors and mentees.
Targeted mentee recruitment efforts will begin in Year 1. The mentor program will be marketed to students via the Center for Career Development and Internship (CDI) webpages, announcements in presentations to classes, standalone information sessions introducing the Alumni Mentorship Network, daily announcements, “Handshake” e-mail, CDI Instagram, Tabling, posting of program success stories through video on the alumni webpages, and partnerships with other student organizations.
Program effectiveness data from network participants, both mentors and mentees, will be formally collected beginning with the pilot launch in fall of Year 1 and continuing throughout the Flight Ready initiative. Focus groups with student mentees who have completed the alumni mentorship opportunity will take place.
