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Mentoring for Access, Retention and Student Success: A review of practice in the West-North West Cluster of HEIs

The WNW Connect Project is focused on creating and promoting accessible routes to Higher Education in the West North-West Region of Ireland through engaging with, and supporting, individuals who are socio-economically and/or educationally disadvantaged.

This study on the current Path 3 funded mentoring initiatives focused on access, progression and retention currently in place in ATU and University of Galway was undertaken by a research team from University of Galway and ATU.  It includes a literature review, the perspectives of multiple stakeholders involved in mentoring in school, university and community settings and presents guiding principles for mentoring initiatives based on the literature and participant experience.  

Speakers include:

Dr. Michele Glacken, Registrar & Vice President Students, Teaching & Learning, ATU Sligo
Sarah Mohan, ATU Galway Student Union President
Dr. Bernadine Brady, Principal Investigator, UNESCO Child & Family Research Centre, University of Galway
Dr. Celia Keenaghan, Education Mentoring Co-ordinator, WNW Connect

Guest Speaker

The keynote will be delivered by Joellen Spacek, Senior Director of Affiliate Impact with MENTOR an organisation who have built a youth mentoring field and movement in the United States. She has 30 years of history of uniting the mentoring movement to drive investment in mentoring. Joellen has experience of using Collective Impact and other techniques to increase the quality and quantity of formal and informal mentoring through building strong coalitions, encouraging mentoring in systems such as schools and workplaces, and through embedding mentoring in everyday communities.