The STAR (Students Taking Academic Responsibility) mentoring program is a free service to students on first-time academic probation. The STAR program is a semester-long intensive mentoring program for University College students in academic difficulty. As noted in the academic probation policy for University College, STAR is a required mandatory intervention option (the other option is participation in group mentoring sessions for the semester) that students may choose.
STAR provides mentors to support students as they work to return to good academic standing. The mentors assist students with becoming more focused by working together to address challenges, improve strengths, and connect to the various resources on campus that can help them reach their academic and career goals. There is no financial cost to participate in STAR. However, it requires a commitment on the part of the students to attend weekly appointments (for 30 minutes) with their mentors and to work hard to improve their academics. A combination of students and professional staff from across campus volunteer each semester to be mentors for the STAR program.
My first reaction was one of defiance, but then thought,‘it can’t hurt.’ I had little idea how much it would come to help me. I don’t have many friends on campus, and with my mentor, I realized I had someone at school I could communicate with and help keep me committed to my goals.
