Abstract

A recently developed program at Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) uses course-embedded tutors called Writing Fellows to provide first-year students with an academic peer mentor. Writing Fellows are assigned to an English 101 class which they attend, and outside of the class, they meet individually with students in consultations concerning their academic projects or papers. Since the Honors Program at EKU currently lacks a sustainable peer mentorship program, the author Tori Abbott attempted to combine elements of the Writing Fellow program with the needs of Honors students. The mentor for this Honors thesis, Katie Patton, taught two sections of the Honors student success seminar and offered to let the author use these courses to test her theory. The two student mentors for these courses volunteered to participate in a pilot version of this peer mentorship model. Their added responsibilities primarily included meeting with the students one-on-one outside of the classroom. This study, “Academic Mentorship in Honors,” used surveys and feedback from the mentors to evaluate whether or not such a model would benefit the Honors Program and what changes would be need to be made in the future. The results of the studies suggested that students who met with their mentors outside of the classroom as a part of their course felt more socially integrated than students in a control class who were not required to meet with their mentors.

Semester/Year of Award

Spring 2016

Mentor

Katie Patton

Mentor Professional Affiliation

Honors Program

Access Options

Open Access Thesis

Document Type

Bachelor Thesis

Degree Name

Honors Scholars

Degree Level

Bachelor's

Department

English and Theatre

IRB Approval Number (if applicable)

Institutional Review Board IRB00002836, DHHS FWA00003332

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