Coming soon: Single-session social capital intervention

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: ude.bmu@sedohr.naej

An annonymous foundation has awarded Jean Rhodes and UMass Boston a $435,000 grant to develop and scale a single-session intervention based on Connected Futures, a groundbreaking intervention designed to help college students build critical social capital.

The project will be led by Dr. Jean E. Rhodes, Frank L. Boyden Professor of Clinical Psychology and Director of the Center for Evidence-Based Mentoring at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Dr. Rhodes, recipient of the 2024 APA Urie Bronfenbrenner Award for Lifetime Contribution to Developmental Psychology, brings decades of expertise in mentoring research and program development.

“Social capital – particularly supportive relationships with university faculty and staff – is one of the strongest predictors of student success,” explains Dr. Rhodes. “This intervention will help students, especially those from marginalized backgrounds, develop the skills and confidence needed to build these vital networks.”

The project builds on compelling evidence and studies, led by Suffolk University Professor, Sarah Schwartz,  showing that students who participated in earlier versions of Connected Futures demonstrated significantly higher GPAs, improved help-seeking behaviors. A new study, led by Rhodes and her colleagues shows that students enrolled in CF have nearly double the retention rates compared to their peers.

Making Impact Accessible

Following rigorous testing at the University of Massachusetts Boston, the intervention will be made freely available through MentorPRO’s learning management system at academy.mentorpro.com. This strategic distribution will ensure that any student can access these evidence-based tools anonymously and at no cost.

“By leveraging MentorPRO’s established technological infrastructure and partnerships with educational institutions nationwide, we can rapidly scale this intervention to reach hundreds of thousands of students,” said CEO, Nancy McNamara.

The initiative particularly aims to support first-generation college students and those from underrepresented backgrounds, who often face greater barriers to building professional networks despite the critical importance of these connections for academic and career success.

For more information about Connected Futures and MentorPRO’s commitment to advancing educational equity through mentoring, please contact ude.bmu@sedohr.naeJ