6. Create partnerships between higher education institutions and high schools to provide high-quality mentorship and recruitment pipelines.

Recruitment 09.19.24

Here’s what the federal government can do:

  • The U.S. Department of Education should collect, conduct, and disseminate research on the effectiveness of high school mentorship programs and their impact on the college enrollment of students of color, first-generation students, and students with lower incomes.
  • The U.S. Department of Education should ensure that higher education institutions and public high schools have access to and an understanding of best practices to create mentorship programs that increase college enrollment for students of color, first-generation students, and students with lower incomes.
  • Congress should provide funding to support partnerships between institutions of higher education and high schools to support college-going for underrepresented students.

Here’s what state government can do:

  • State legislatures should provide funding for mentorship partnerships.

Here’s what institutional leaders can do:

  • Higher education institutions should partner with public high schools to create mentorship programs that support underrepresented students and provide a recruitment pipeline.
  • Higher education institutions should allow college students to earn academic credits for their volunteer mentorship.
  • Higher education institutions should also support campus organizations that provide service-learning opportunities or can facilitate regular meetings with mentees and mentors.
  • Higher education institutions should facilitate the use of work study funds to support students who serve as mentors.

Higher education institutions should support the pursuits of underrepresented high school students by developing mentorship programs that encourage enrollment into higher education. Research suggests that when first-generation students had access to multiple mentors and spent more time with them, it increased their likelihood of enrolling in college.[i] College students and college-educated adults can serve as peer mentors, offering guidance on their pathway to and preparation for college.

[i] Glass, Leah. “Social Capital and First-Generation College Students: Examining the Relationship between Mentoring and College Enrollment.” Education and Urban Society, March 4, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1177/00131245221076097.