By Joseph A. Kitchen
Peer mentoring is a very common practice implemented by postsecondary institutions, student transition programs, and student support offices alike. Peer mentors are paraprofessionals who aim to provide invaluable knowledge and resources that facilitate a successful college transition among incoming collegians. These peer mentors — often with guidance from college support staff — are on the front lines guiding students during their college transition, sharing key knowledge, information and resources with the goal of supporting their success in a new learning environment in pursuit of their educational and career goals.
As part of the PASS project, my colleagues and I examined whether formal peer mentoring, implemented by a college transition program, increased college student success during their first year of college. We wanted to know whether this particular model of peer mentoring that operates at scale — serving hundreds of mentees —was effective in increasing their sense of belonging, feelings of mattering, and confidence in their academic capabilities and career paths, each of which are key to a smooth college transition. We also wished to identify how this particular model of peer mentoring supported students’ success to provide critical insights for other practitioners and paraprofessionals on the ground engaged in, or planning to engage in, college student peer mentoring.
In our mixed methods study, my colleagues and I found that engaging with the college transition programs’ peer mentoring indeed effectively increased a whole suite of student success indicators connected to a smooth transition and retention— including college sense of belonging, mattering, academic self-efficacy and confidence in a major and career path. Speaking with mentees provided valuable insights into the approaches the mentors used that supported mentees’ college success — which are informative for college educators, practitioners, and paraprofessionals seeking to enhance existing peer mentoring programming or to implement new effective models of peer mentoring to support student success in the first year of college.
Proactive guidance, holistic support and validating messages from peer mentors inspired confidence among mentees, contributed to a sense of belonging in college, and gave them a sense that their success mattered to others. Specifically, students spoke about the value of proactive outreach initiated by peer mentors in helping to identify challenges and opportunities early on, as well as the resources and support that they can leverage to overcome challenges before they worsen — and opportunities they can take advantage of to elevate and maximize their college experience.
Further, the support was meaningful to mentees because it was not transactional. Rather, the mentors were trained to take a holistic approach that humanized mentor support and considered the multifaceted needs — personal and academic — of mentees in tandem. This recognized that personal and academic experiences were often intertwined and jointly affected students’ college success. Finally, mentors validated and affirmed that students had innately valuable assets and experiences they could leverage, with the right college support and resources, to accomplish their college goals.
Reflecting the joint commitment of PASS researchers and the peer mentor program staff to spread effective practices and approaches that support student success, we worked together to detail the contours of how staff train and guide the peer mentors implementing this effective model of peer mentor support. The peer mentor practice guide we developed extends the reach of our research by detailing practical, evidence-based recommendations to enhance existing peer mentor programs or inform those wishing to implement new peer mentoring programs. The guide provides information ranging from how to structure an effective peer mentor program, to peer mentor recruitment and training strategies, and how to maintain and sustain an effective peer mentor program.
Read more about PASS research on peer mentoring.
