Each year universities put a lot of emphasis on their educational programs so that they may achieve top national rankings and acknowledgement from other universities. An important factor in this ranking is the graduation and job placement rates of their students. In turn, this attracts better students, which further improves their ranking. Extracurricular activities play an important role in student retention, so it’s important that they are up to standard as well. This is where mentoring fits in: it’s an efficient and cost-effective way to connect students with alumni. Students are guided by the alumni throughout their university career and as they enter the professional world.
That’s why we decided to showcase some of the best benefits mentoring can offer to any university which is looking to build lasting relationships between their students and alumni.
Improved Job Placement Rates
University graduates often fall on difficult economic times due to problems finding a job post their graduation. This has caused some students to complain that universities don’t prepare them enough for the highly competitive job market. In turn, this negatively affects the (something) standing of the university. This is where a mentoring program can help. Connecting students and alumni through mentoring programs allows for the development of strong student networks and access to better resources for job searching. Connecting with an industry expert is a guiding experience, allowing students to understand their potential career paths and the needed steps to achieve that. Furthermore, this expands their network, making important connections which can help them in finding their first job post-graduation. That’s why we believe that alumni are a very important resource which should be utilised by every university.
Better Student Retention
Sadly, 33% of undergraduates do not finish their degree program (Hanson, 2023). This can negatively affect the university’s reputation, as current and potential students can view this as an indication of a lack of quality in the program or support structures. Mentorship programs fix this by providing students with support from people who have gone through the same problems. Older students and alumni act as mentors during each stage of a student’s path. Through sharing firsthand real-world experiences a more personal connection is established than with the university professional advisor.
Enchance Alumni Engagement
Alumni are a very important factor in establishing and maintaining a university’s credibility and reputation. They stand as an example of the achievements students can attain from a specific degree or program that the university offers. That’s why it’s crucial to engage your university’s alumni by allowing them to serve as mentors. Pre-established alumni networks are a great starting point, allowing current students to get advice from people who have walked the same path as them. This also works for alumni-to-alumni connections, allowing younger alumni to learn from those with more experience than them. A strong mentorship program allows for the establishment of a giving-back culture, allowing alumni to support the institution that contributed to their success.
Final thoughts
Through these examples we hope we have displayed why a mentorship program is needed for effective student engagement. StellarUp is a powerful mentoring solution through which you can significantly save administrative time, effort, and expense. This is done through automated capabilities like an admin dashboard and mentorship program workflows. We make it simple to create, run, and measure a university mentoring programme.
Sources:
Hanson, M. (2023, October 29). College Dropout Rate [2023]: by Year + Demographics. Education Data Initiative. https://educationdata.org/college-dropout-rates
