Service Continuity Update (Wednesday, March 25, 2020)
By now, you have received multiple communications from President Montgomery and our Provost, Dr. Jennifer Bott, regarding the university’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak. WMU remains open and the Mentoring for Success Program is here to provide mentoring, tutoring, and virtual study sessions. The Mentoring for Success Program office is available remotely Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
In alignment with courses being offered through distance education for the remainder of the semester, Mentoring for Success Program services will be offered from a distance as our staff works remotely during this time. You will be able to connect with mentors and join remote study sessions via email and WebEx. Current participants can check our program's Instagram account or events and activities page, or email us about how to access the remote study sessions.
You may call the program director, Dr. Vun Doubblestein, at (269) 387-3316 or email dma-peermentoring@wmich.edu. Phone calls and emails will be attended to in the order received.
Your success is our top priority and we will do our best to serve your needs. Thank you for your patience and be well!
The Mentoring for Success Program is a peer mentoring program designed to promote program participants' success at Western Michigan University through increased acceptance rates into participants' intended majors and increased college graduation rates. The program is geared toward achieving specific academic and developmental goals that are focused on participants' overall development. The program is optimized for and most beneficial to first-year and second-year students.
Our academic mentors provide undergraduate students in our target population academic support through one-on-one and small-group mentoring sessions, during which they may tutor, facilitate discussions, help students locate resources, and promote academic and life skills development. They also model effective student practices and attitudes and facilitate weekly study sessions for participants in our target population. Our mentors come from diverse backgrounds and are committed to helping students succeed academically, socially, emotionally, and professionally.
Our program strives to ensure that all program participants are given the full opportunity to discover and develop their talents, interests, and unique potential, and to provide a learning-centered and student-centered environment that presents the context for intellectual, cultural, professional, and personal growth during the college experience. Program participants will learn to become independent, confident learners and develop good study habits, learning techniques, and time management skills that will enhance their education and college experience, as well as to enable them to achieve a post-secondary degree.
The Mentoring for Success Program is funded by the State of Michigan Talent Investment Agency's King-Chávez-Parks Initiative, as well as WMU's Multicultural Affairs for Students and Office of Diversity of Inclusion. The program was formerly known as the Steps Toward Exhibiting Mastery Program. References to the former name will be found in our participant and former staff testimonials.
How to participate
Starting Monday, March 16, the Mentoring for Success Program will be hosting virtual study sessions at regularly scheduled study session times. Detailed information and instructions on how to join the sessions have been emailed to all current program participants. All academic mentors will meet virtually with their assigned one-on-one mentees during mutually agreed upon times. Please visit our Instagram for session login information or email our program office for more information.
Safety procedures
Please report any suspected or alleged instances of wrongdoing or misconduct or concerns about inappropriate service provisions and practices by any peer mentor to the program director at (269) 387-3316 or to the director of Multicultural Affairs for Students using the Student Complaint Form. In case of a medical emergency or an immediate threat to your personal safety, call 911. For non-emergencies, call WMU's Department of Public Safety at (269) 387-5555.
For detailed policies and procedures on what to do in case emergency occurs while you are on campus, refer to WMU emergency procedures.
The WMU Hotline at (269) 387-1001 and the University's home page are WMU's official sources for information on WMU closings due to weather or campus emergencies.
WMU nondiscrimination statement
Western Michigan University prohibits discrimination or harassment which violates the law or which constitutes inappropriate or unprofessional limitation of employment, University facility access, or participation in University activities, on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, protected disability, veteran status, height, weight, or marital status.