Lagged Retention Effects of Relational Mentoring
Short-term evaluation metrics often misclassify successful relational mentoring programs as ineffective because building deep trust and behavioral change between advisors and low-income students requires multiple semesters before yielding measurable academic retention gains.
Picture this
Building relational trust is like planting an oak tree; during the first few seasons, growth occurs quietly below ground in the root structure without visible fruit, but after several years, the deeply rooted tree remains standing through severe storms that uproot unanchored plants.
What the evidence says
Enrollment effects were statistically indistinguishable from zero after two semesters (TOT = 0.072) and four semesters (TOT = -0.077), but grew into a statistically significant 25.1 percentage point increase in college persistence by six semesters (TOT, p < 0.10).
- Who
- N = 869 low-income community college students at Tarrant County College in Fort Worth, Texas.
- How
- Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) tracking student academic outcomes across two, four, and six semesters post-random assignment.
What to do
Extend evaluation timelines for relational mentoring programs to at least six semesters before assessing overall program effectiveness or making funding renewal decisions.
From the source
"Together, our results after two, four, and six semesters indicate that the intervention did not have a meaningful impact on enrollment in college or degree completion until after six semesters."
Increasing Community College Completion Rates among Low-Income Students: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluation of a Case Management Intervention