Student Success invites faculty to participate in an exciting pilot: Evidence-Based and Intensive Mentoring of FTFT Freshmen. This pilot integrates faculty mentoring into Georgia Gwinnett College’s (GGC) First-Year Experience course (GGC 1000) to strengthen students’ sense of belonging and academic momentum.
Selected faculty will mentor a small group of first-year students in a meta-major based GGC 1000, supporting students through meaningful connections across fall 2026 and spring 2027.
Project goals
- Improve first-year student success and persistence through early, sustained mentoring.
- Develop (and disseminate) an evidence-informed, scalable mentoring model for GGC and others.
- Disseminate results through at least one conference and one publication (to occur after the grant ends).
Faculty expectations
- Mentor 10-12 students in a GGC 1000 section
- Complete four documented touchpoints per semester
- One required in-class visit in fall 2026
- Additional touchpoints might include small-group lunches or campus event attendance
- Participate in a monthly Faculty Learning Community (FLC)
- Share strategies and insights.
- Contribute to the development of a scalable mentoring toolkit.
Project timeline (overview)
- Summer 2026: mentor recruitment and selection
- August 2026: mentor orientation and FLC kickoff
- Fall 2026: mentoring implementation and student engagement
- Spring 2027: continued mentoring and FLC engagement
- Summer 2027: data analysis, toolkit development and prepare dissemination products
If interested,complete and submit a brief application: Intensive Mentoring – Faculty Application
If you have questions or need additional information, contact:
- awilsker [at] ggc.edu (Dr. Amanda Wilsker), professor of economics and and Economics, Supply Chain Management and Marketing interim department chair
- wholley [at] ggc.edu (Dr. Whitney Holley), associate professor of music
- tlilly [at] ggc.edu (Dr. Thomas Lilly), professor of English and assistant provost for Academic Assessment and Accreditation
- wanders1 [at] ggc.edu (Wendy Anderson), director of First- and Second-Year Student Experience