Dive Summary:
- Launched this fall, csMentor is a web-based app combining video mentoring with regular check-ins in an attempt to promote better communication between students and parents.
- Families who sign up for the program and pay a $29.95 subscription fee gain access for the student to several Mentoring Interactive Programs--short videos on topics such as "Coping With Homesickness" or "How to Ask for Help in College" followed by short questionnaires--and, at the end of each week, the software compiles a report for the student and parents based on the student's answers.
- Critics like Marjorie Savage, parent program director at the University of Minnesota, question whether or not an app like csMentor goes further than what a typical college student would need and obstructs parents from giving students a certain level of trust.
From the article:
About half of the students who fail to graduate college in six years never even make it to their second year, according to Department of Education data. Now, a new app is aiming to help make that college transition more successful for students - by involving their parents. Launched this fall by a team based in Washington, csMentor - the "cs" stands for "college survival and success" - is a web-based program that combines video mentoring with regular check-ins to promote better communication between students and parents. ...