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About the COMPASS Program
- COMPASS - Commitment to the Objective of Mentoring Perseverance, Achievement, Sustainability,
and Success is a pilot program aimed at supporting African American Males currently on academic
probation through collaborative efforts at West Chester University in West Chester,
Pennsylvania. Our institutional efforts to support the academic success of students
has resulted in a multi-layered approach.
- The objectives of the COMPASS program are to 1) increase the 2nd to 3rd year retention
rate among AA male students at WCU, 2) reduce the equity gap between AA Males students
and the rest of the student population by 20%. Our approach to the COMPASS program
is multifaceted and has various components such as a) an academic graduate mentor,
b) mandatory study hall, c) mandatory tutoring. While this initiative is in the early
stages, we believe this model is can be a comprehensive sustainable tool for student
success.
- The COMPASS programs for a direct individualized approach with graduate level academic
mentors. The weekly meetings allow for the male students to have a safe space in which
to trust and share successes, barriers and challenges as a student at West Chester
University. This program empowers students to advocate for themselves across the campus.
- The students and mentors create a partnership built on trust and mutual respect. The
students often seek advice and ask questions on many topics such as mental health,
financial aid, housing and textbooks, among many others. This has allowed the program
to create additional connections with many offices across the campus that provide
services for students.
- It creates a unique opportunity to partner with the Higher Education Policy and Student
Affairs Program to allow graduate students to apply knowledge and skills to support
students toward academic success.
- As we move into our “new normal”, for some our students, stable housing and food options
were suddenly gone. There is the constant worry of the unknown and the stress of being
at home with additional responsibilities are some of the issues that have come from
the weekly meetings. The inability to become motivated and the difficulty of staying
accountable and trying to stay engaged during online lectures and discussions has
caused us to pivot and increase communication over the past months.
- The ongoing feedback from these students have provided a wonderful opportunity to
examine current policy and practices related to student success
- The pandemic has not changed why the program exist, if anything it has increased the
need for support services to ensure their success.
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