University Mentoring Programs University Mentoring Programs
What research says about mentoring programs for university students.
What this presentation covers
What this presentation covers
What this presentation covers
Why the first year matters
Year one decides who stays
In the US, 82% of new students at four-year institutions returned for year two.
- Four-year institutions 82%82%
- Two-year institutions 61%61%
Define mentoring first
Write down what mentoring means here
Reviews of college mentoring keep finding vague and varied definitions.
- Who mentors peers, staff, faculty or alumni
- What support study, career or wellbeing
- How often meetings per month
- How long a term or a year
Choosing the mentor
Pick the mentor for the goal
Match the type of mentor to what students need most.
- Peer mentor settling in, first term
- Faculty mentor study and research
- Alumni mentor careers and first jobs
- Staff mentor services and support
Peer mentors in the first term
Peer mentors help first-years stay
Without a peer mentor, four times as many first-years seriously considered leaving.
Belonging keeps students
Belonging is what keeps students
Mentored students felt more integrated, and integration partly explained their plans to stay.
- Peer mentoring from week one
- Integration feeling part of the university
- Intention to stay fewer think of leaving
Contact after week one
Keep contact going after week one
Most of 124 new students used their peer mentor in week one, fewer by week ten.
- Week one most students used it
- Week ten use had dropped
- Your plan a check-in every few weeks
Faculty mentors
Faculty mentors lift grades and persistence
339 students with faculty mentors beat matched peers on grades, units and dropout.
- Higher grades
- More units completed
- Lower dropout
How few students have a mentor
Few graduates recall a mentor
Only 22% of US graduates strongly agreed that a mentor encouraged their goals.
- A professor made learning exciting 63%63%
- Professors cared about them 27%27%
- A mentor encouraged their goals 22%22%
- All three 14%14%
Career mentoring with graduates
Link students to working graduates
With caring, inspiring professors and a mentor, graduates’ odds of work engagement more than doubled.
Sources
The research behind this presentation
- National Center for Education Statistics (2022) Undergraduate Retention and Graduation Rates. Condition of Education U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences
- Crisp, G. & Cruz, I. (2009) Mentoring college students: A critical review of the literature between 1990 and 2007 Research in Higher Education, 50(6), 525-545
- Gershenfeld, S. (2014) A review of undergraduate mentoring programs Review of Educational Research, 84(3), 365-391
- Collings, R., Swanson, V. & Watkins, R. (2014) The impact of peer mentoring on levels of student wellbeing, integration and retention: A controlled comparative evaluation of residential students in UK higher education Higher Education, 68(6), 927-942
- Collings, R., Swanson, V. & Watkins, R. (2016) Peer mentoring during the transition to university: Assessing the usage of a formal scheme within the UK Studies in Higher Education, 41(11), 1995-2010
- Campbell, T. A. & Campbell, D. E. (1997) Faculty/student mentor program: Effects on academic performance and retention Research in Higher Education, 38(6), 727-742
- Gallup (2014) Great Jobs, Great Lives: The 2014 Gallup-Purdue Index Report Gallup, Washington, DC
Start with the first term
Give new students a peer mentor, then add faculty and alumni.