ECMC Foundation partnered with RFA in a multiphase project that investigated the efficacy of mentoring, advising, and coaching (MAC) strategies within postsecondary institutions, focusing especially on meeting the needs of traditionally underrepresented students. The research was divided into three phases, each of which provided useful insights and recommendations to help inform ECMCF’s grant making moving forward.
In Phase 1, RFA conducted a literature scan to highlight empirical research on MAC program efficacy, particularly focusing on their effect on postsecondary student outcomes. This phase also aimed to provide insight into how each type of programming is conceptualized. In Phase 2, RFA evaluated the Foundation’s MAC grants aimed at promoting postsecondary success among underrepresented students by analyzing grants awarded between 2018 and 2023 through document review and interviews with a sample of grantee organizations. In Phase 3, RFA synthesized insights gathered from the previous two phases of the project, as well as an expanded review of the literature on best practices in MAC approaches and semi-structured interviews with experts in the field.
Along with evaluation findings and best practices, the internal products provided by RFA to ECMC Foundation helped to identify challenges and opportunities in implementing MAC supports, strategies for scaling and sustaining the work, and recommendations for their theory of change and overall funding strategies.