People who fund Cida City Campus's mentorship programme are also asked to give something of themselves.
"We ask mentors to see their student or students at least four times in a calendar year," says Daniella Jaff, who put the mentorship programme together.
There are different types of mentors. "Most are individuals. But there are corporates who offer a team. For instance, a few people working at Investec's private bank got together and decided to sponsor three students. In that case, individuals on the team take on the role of mentor," says Jaff.
Companies involved in mentorship include: the Investec group, Corpcapital, Investment Solutions and UTi. Also involved is the Gordon Institute of Business Science's MBA class.
One of the reasons Jaff set up the programme was that she encountered people in the professional world who wanted to do more for Cida than just donate money.
And there is a great need among students for both financial and psychological support.
"A lot of these students are the first in their community to go to university and to be involved in business. They don't understand what corporate life is. They need guidance from someone with experience and know-how," says Jaff.
The two sets of needs created a perfect supply/demand equation.
The financial help of mentors often makes the difference between a student dropping out or making the grade.
First-year students are asked to pay a registration fee of R350. "This is compulsory and can't be subsidised," says Jaff. "We feel that students who can't pay that up front aren't likely to survive four years without a regular income."
Thereafter, first-year students pay no more for tuition but they have to find R150/month for accommodation. Students on the Cida food programme can manage on R100/month for food. And, if they don't live within walking distance of Cida, they need money for transport.
From the second year, tuition fees are R100/month. A second-year student, who lives within walking distance of Cida, would need about R150 for accommodation and could manage on R100 for food. That would be the minimum amount needed each month, for 11 months in the year.
"Of course, the amounts will go up incrementally with inflation," says Jaff.
Cida has a separate account for the mentorship programme. And the first R100 a sponsor gives, each month, goes to fees. "This helps everybody because Cida gets the fees regularly. The student's burden is eased. And the person giving the money knows it is going to Cida and is helping the programme."
Mentors may start paying any time during the year but they must continue to sponsor a student until the end of the following year.
Students who apply for a mentorship must get references from their class facilitators (see page 9). The process is an additional incentive to students to perform well in the class.
Students who are sponsored by mentors undertake to repay the equivalent amount to the Cida Alumni student loan fund in their first year of employment. So the programme has the potential to grow exponentially, along with the student intake.
The personal aspect of the relationship between mentor and student has proved very successful.
"When we put students with individuals, we ask students about their interests, what they do in their spare time, what field they would like to go into. And we match them with a mentor who has similar interests or works in the field they are targeting."
And the benefits don't flow in one direction only. As with the teams sent by corporates to lecture at Cida, the people who donate their time find it an enriching experience, says Jaff.
- For more information e-mail daniella@jaff.name
