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A mentorship program fueled by a pair of increasingly popular Illinois Tech courses that teach students successful learning strategies and mentorship skills will now also be funded by a grant that aims to boost the retention rate of the university’s students who are graduates of the �鶹APP Public School system.

A new component of Illinois Tech’s Empowerment, Leadership, and Mentorship (ELM) program will be to train �鶹APP Public School alumni currently enrolled at the university to train other enrolled CPS alumni, with the help of a $75,000 grant from the College Compact Promising Practice Innovation Fund. The private family fund’s mission is to increase CPS student retention rates in higher education, and all grant applications are vetted and distributed by CPS staff. 

The mentors, some of whom are upskilled through the program and serve as “associate academic coaches,” are trained through several courses that primarily teach general learning strategies (GLS) and, in particular, self-care and cognitive and metacognitive strategies to enhance academic performance, self-awareness, self-esteem, organization, and communication. The student coaches are taught leadership and mentorship techniques through a firm basis in personal empowerment and emotional intelligence, thus developing a crucial, lifelong set of skills that are desired by employers.  

“The ‘train the trainer’ aspect is really the secret sauce of what we do,” says Illinois Tech Professor of Biology and Biomedical Engineering Joseph Orgel, who heads the ELM program and created the GLS syllabus, which he teaches alongside a team of Ph.D. psychology students. “I’ve learned in my practice that the more you teach and practice your profession, the better you get at it. Those young, hungry undergrads, when paired with someone close to them in age, you get a really powerful gestalt.” 

The learning strategy courses have proven to be remarkably popular: More than 200 students were enrolled in the courses as of fall/spring 2024, a sharp growth from its start in fall 2019 when there were just 10 students enrolled and one instructor who led it. The program will now, thanks to the PPIF grant, aim to train 30–40 CPS alumni coaches by 2025. According to student data included with the grant application, there were 176 CPS students enrolled at Illinois Tech in 2022. 

Miguel Saucedo, director of postsecondary scholarships and interventions at �鶹APP Public Schools, says he hopes to build a pipeline of CPS students into Illinois Tech, including cultural affinity groups and a transfer of knowledge about campus resources so that new CPS alums don’t feel isolated. 

“We really care about mentoring. It’s not just academics and affordability, but it’s also fit: Are you going to be comfortable and supported in your academic community?” says Saucedo, who oversees the PPIF awards. 

“This is our attempt to strengthen our relationship,” adds Saucedo. “The beautiful thing about it is those mentors will receive stipends, and the university will retain more students and show proof their graduation rates are higher than their counterparts.” 

The grant application notes that some heavily disadvantaged CPS students enrolled in the ELM program over the past five years and “showed remarkable improvement...despite the COVID-19 pandemic, showcasing the students’ resilience and capability.” 

“Supporting CPS graduates with learning and social emotional intelligence resources early will drastically improve outcomes,” the application concludes. 

Saucedo notes that Illinois Tech’s was one of just nine university programs given funding through the PPIF fund, and the initial $75,000 given annually to the ELM program could be replicated to cover an additional two years. 

Photo: Illinois Tech students work together in the Academic Resource Center.