Relationship Rich Education: How Human Connections Drive Success in College

Abstract

When I came across this book, my first thought was that the premise was a bit obvious. Relationships are important to student success. One would be hard pressed to find a less controversial position in higher education. The authors preempt this argument by acknowledging it, then correctly pointing out that higher education leaders often fail to prioritize mentoring and other forms of relationship-rich education in their allocation of human and financial resources. Felton and Lambert devote the bulk of this work to highlighting institutional programs, policies, and practices that prioritize this human element. They discuss curricular and cocurricular initiatives in an integrated way, highlighting the importance of benefits offered by both kinds of engagement. A cocurricular example the authors discuss is California State University-Dominguez Hills’s Male Success Initiative, a mentoring program that takes a holistic approach to developing students’ academic and personal talents. For a book dedicated to what can be perceived as a soft topic, the authors take a refreshingly practical approach. They communicate in detail why relationships matter, following the aforementioned program highlight with the results of a 2014 Gallup-Purdue study of 30,000 college graduates showing a positive relationship between mentorship and workplace engagement (p. 25). The authors also provide several examples of curricular policies and practices that foster connection and corresponding evidence as to why they are worth the investment. They highlight Elon University’s curriculum re-structuring, which awarded four credit hours for most classes in order to allow faculty to teach fewer courses with more depth and student centeredness. Felton and Lambert also discussed Florida International University’s integration of learning assistants into large courses to provide more focused attention and personalized instruction. While some might balk at the price, the authors argue, “Yes, this kind of education may have additional costs, but the costs pale in comparison to higher attrition rates, greater likelihood of student loan default, and the huge social costs of students not reaching their full potential” (p. 151). By Peter Felten and Leo M. Lambert, 2020. Johns Hopkins University Press, 187 pages, ISBN 9781421439360, Hardback, $39.95