Students Connecting with Mentors for Success

Oklahoma City Community College Aspiration Statement

Oklahoma City Community College aspires, through bold and transformative action, to significantly raise the educational achievement of all our students and to be an indispensable pathway to a more prosperous and fulfilling future.

Students Connecting with Mentors for Success Introduction

Education transforms lives. Traditionally, education has served as a significant vehicle for personal advancement and socio-economic improvement. Most students enroll in postsecondary education for the purpose of augmenting their opportunities for a more promising future and self-sustainability. One objective of institutions of higher education is to provide students with an academic infrastructure that prepares them to compete successfully in the workplace.

OCCC Students Connecting with Mentors for Success (SCMS) is a program designed to provide degree-seeking students with mentors and intra-campus resources to facilitate successful academic achievement, higher retention rates, and graduation completion. The SCMS program will focus on connecting students with professionals in their area of interest who will offer support, guidance, and engagement according to each student’s need.

Goal of Students Connecting with Mentors for Success

OCCC’s Mission Statement, in part, states:

OCCC provides broad access to learning that empowers students to complete a certificate or degree and that enriches the lives of everyone in our community . . . . It’s not enough that students pass through our doors—earning a certificate or degree is what changes lives.

In keeping with OCCC’s mission to ultimately change lives, the purpose of SCMS is to improve academic achievement, retention, and graduation rates for students, with the goal of preparing them for successful entry into the workforce or transfer to a four-year academic institution. This will be achieved by furnishing mentors who will provide supportive relationships that facilitate academic program completion for every student. Mentors will offer advice, insight, and critical evaluation to mentees. Mentees must be coachable, cooperative, and willing to be held accountable by mentors. When applicable, mentors will also connect mentees to professionals within their major or area of interest. Mentors may use their personal contacts to help mentees meet industry professionals, find internships, and locate job opportunities.

The collaborative effort of the SCMS program, mentors, and students is the timely springboard that will help close the achievement gaps which many of our students currently face. As students are undergirded with the foundation that secures their professional pursuits, they are more likely to reach the milestones that result in improved financial well-being, increased occupational opportunities, and elevated social standing. This monumental difference not only improves the lives of the students and their families, but increases their positive involvement in the community and their investment in the economic growth of Oklahoma.