New Mentoring Program Designed to Enhance Minority Male Student Success

iStock_3651536Business.jpgStaff reports

Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College received a $30,000 grant from the North Carolina Community College System to enhance minority male student success. Dr. Joseph Fox, Business Administration Chair, and Paul Knott, Curriculum Coordinator of the BioNetwork BioBusiness Center, developed the mentoring program. The program is based on the development of academic abilities, basic business interests, and skills for male minority students.

“This grant will be used to come up with and implement strategies to increase retention and graduation rates of minority males,” said Fox. “This is an important issue for all of the community colleges across North Carolina.”

The strategic focus of the program consists of identifying and
supporting minority male students through their academic program,
developing College and community mentoring resources, and establishing
an effective College-community collaboration to sustain and expand the
program beyond the grant period.

Building on the College’s two-year Entrepreneurship degree
program and a recent 2 + 2 transfer agreement with Western Carolina
University, the mentoring will assist students in completion of
programs such as accounting, business administration, entrepreneurship,
marketing, and human resources management.

The interventions with students will involve recruiting up to 20
minority male students from the African American, Native American, and
Hispanic/Latino student populations to participate in the program. The
participants will be provided with advising, assessment, counseling,
tutoring, and other learning support resources. The mentoring capacity
of the College will be enhanced through training professionals and
peers to serve in coach, counselor, or instructor roles.

“The grant provides an exciting new opportunity to support
greater student success and expand access to A-B Tech’s excellent
educational programs across our diverse community,” Knott said.

The program will engage students in scheduled programs,
counseling sessions and self-directed work. Students will focus on
self-analysis to examine personal strengths, weaknesses, skills,
knowledge, and abilities related to student and entrepreneurial
success.

The program will consist of an analysis to determine business
development resources available in the community and an assessment of
market opportunities and business development strategies. A final phase
will consist of developing an action or business plan and proposing a
business venture.

Fox and Knott are currently accepting recommendations of
minority male students who would benefit from various workshops such
as: Dressing for Success, Resume Writing, Job Interview Skills, Health
and Wellness, Stress Management, Conflict Resolution, and
Entrepreneurship, as well as participating in mentoring. Faculty and
staff are also invited to participate by becoming a mentor or a
workshop presenter.

Need information about an academic program? Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, 340 Victoria Road, Asheville, NC, [email protected]