Program History

Students spend an increasing amount of time working to support their academic goals. Often, the time and energy they spend working competes with, rather than supports, their academic responsibilities. This is even more true for students who have families to support or lack financial resources. The Assistantship Mentoring Program was developed as a collaboration of the Centers of Excellence and the Student Center and Activities Office. It allows students to earn the money they need AND gain highly relevant experience, to develop professionally and academically, and to build strong relationships on campus.

Preparation for the program began in 2002-03 when student assistant Heather Willy conducted research on assistantship programs in other undergraduate institutions across the United States and explored high level student positions available in CSC departments. In 2003-2004 the planning group* conducted a pre-pilot program with 11 student-mentor positions. Assistantships in Teaching, Research, and Program Development were created. The pre-pilot was designed as a preliminary step in the program’s creation, as those eleven positions allowed students to take major leadership roles in academic and community endeavors and to be paid relatively well. We gathered information from student assistants and their mentors regarding the benefits and challenges of such work, along with their ideas about what areas of support the program might provide.

The success of the pre-pilot experience led to a formal pilot program in 2004-05. An application process was established and conducted in spring 2004, for fall 2004 positions. A required workshop program was developed for students, and mentors were invited to informal meetings for orientation and exchange of ideas. Funding for the program was drawn from multiple sources: the Centers of Excellence (including The St. Paul Foundation grant, the Bremer grant, the Bigelow Foundations and general Centers funds), Bush Grant for Diversity and Democracy, Core Curriculum, and the Student Center and Activities Office.

During 2004-05, 34 individual students and their mentors participated in the program. Sixteen participated throughout the academic year; 18 participated in either fall or winter semesters. Eight of the 34 students (23.5%) were multicultural or international. Eighteen (52.9%) were eligible for federal or state work-study funding.

During 2005-06, 50 individual students and their mentors participated in the program. Twenty-four participated throughout the academic year; 26 participated in either fall or winter semester. In addition, two students participated in an AMP pilot in the associate degree programs (A-AMP) during winter 2006. Fifteen of the 50 AMP participants (30%) were students of color or international students. Sixteen (31.4%) were eligible for federal or state work-study funding. Faculty and staff mentors from 24 departments participated in 2005-06. Seven of the 49 mentors (14.3%) were faculty of color.

During 2006-07, 54 individual students and their mentors participated in the program. The participants included 11 lab instructors in the psychology department, 3 students in the associate degree program (A-AMP) on the Minneapolis campus, 2 graduate students and 5 WEC students. Thirty-seven of the 54 students (68.5%) were first-time participants in 2006-07. Eighteen of the 53 AMP participants (33.9%) were students of color or international. Faculty and staff mentors from 28 departments participated and four of the 36 mentors (11.1%) were faculty of color.

During 2007-08, 53 individual students and their mentors participated in the program. The participants included 8 lab instructors in the psychology department, one graduate student, one Weekend College student, and 6 students in the associate degree program (A-AMP) on the Minneapolis campus. Forty four of the 53 students (83%) were first-time participants in 2007-08. Fourteen of the 53 AMP participants (26.8 %) were students of color or international students. 40 Faculty and staff mentors from 26 departments participated in 2007-08 and 19 of them were new to AMP.

* The initial planning team included Colette DeHarpporte, Sharon Doherty, Mary Ann McLeod, Debra Miner, and Yvonne Ng. In spring 2004 Joetta Schlabach replaced Colette DeHarpporte and Amelia Hansa joined as a student member. Meghan McInerny served as a student member in fall 2004. Erin Eid Omann became the student member in 2005-06. In 2006-07 Brett Blonigen became the student representative and Associate Dean Marla Martin Hanley replaced Yvonne Ng on the AMP Steering Committee. In 2007-08 Sara Gillespie Albino became the student member and Gianna Bari Lassiter became the first Assistantship Mentoring Program Coordinator. In 2008 Lorissa Gottschalk became the Assistantship Mentoring Program Coordinator.