Title: CHAMPS Peer Mentoring: Improving the Student Experience through Social Connections.
Presenter: Evan Gray (Student Support)
TLC Track: Understanding Our Students
Ashford University's CHAMPS Peer Mentoring Program matches new students (mentees) with experienced, high-achieving students (mentors) based on similarities such as: time zone, college, work experience, military affiliation, family dynamic, and affiliation with our Office of Access and Wellness.  CHAMPS is an innovative program designed to increase the social connections between online students where new  students have the opportunity to learn best practices for managing life, both inside and outside of the classroom, as well as an opportunity for experienced students to improve their leadership, communication and networking skills through mentorship.  During this 7-week program, mentors and mentees engage in conversations covering topics like: navigating the student portal, creating quality study habits, the importance of building a quality online presence, confidence building, identifying and overcoming custom pressure points to being a successful online learner, and creating a long-term vision to stay committed to graduation.  The purpose of this presentation is to inform online student facing staff and faculty how formal mentoring connections are established and monitored during the 7-week program.  Presenters will also provide quantitative and qualitative data to illustrate the perceived impact CHAMPS has had on mentee's preparedness to be a successful online learners, their confidence as an online learner and their proficiency with Ashford University resources.  Quantitative and qualitative data will be discussed to demonstrate mentor's perceived impact CHAMPS has had on their leadership and communication skills, as well as the impact their participation in CHAMPS has had on their network within the Ashford community.