Peer Mentor Program Strategy for Improvement in First-Year Student Retention

Abstract This work is a Complete Evidence-based Practice Paper studying students in a small, private school in the Midwest that recently developed a peer mentoring program. The goal of the program is to improve retention among first-year engineering students by forming a strong sense of community within the school. The first year in college can be challenging, especially in engineering programs. Feelings of isolation are common and can negatively affect student success and mental health. To combat this impact on students, experienced college students (sophomores, juniors, and seniors) were paired with first-year students based on common interests in order to meet outside of the classroom in social environments. Each individual peer mentoring group was composed of a single peer mentor guiding a small cohort of students. At the start of each fall semester, mentors were asked to write a brief bio segment introducing themselves and their interests. Each first-year student was required to join a peer mentor group. Mentees were then grouped based on shared interests with mentors. Once paired with a mentor, the mentees were strongly encouraged to engage in weekly interactions, either through attendance at a one-hour event or by maintaining regular communication with their mentor. With the goal of improving community bonds amongst first-year students, these events were typically fun, social events: meals together, game nights, sporting events, and so on. This arrangement provided first-year students with the opportunity to develop strong connections with peers and upper-class students, enabling them to ask questions they might not feel as comfortable posing to professors. Mentors were instructed to tabulate attendance, write brief descriptions of their events, and note any concerns they had. In the academic year immediately following the initiation of the peer mentor program (Fall 2021 - Fall 2022), this program saw 14.5% points increase in overall first-year to second-year retention. This paper investigates changes in retention numbers at various points in time to better understand the success of this program and excavate its relevance for other programs seeking to implement peer mentoring. In addition to quantitative data, we gathered qualitative, open-ended survey data from mentees on how they feel the program helped them. This helps to understand experiences from the students' perspectives. Additionally, metrics were analyzed to help optimize mentee attendance and participation in the peer mentor events. Between the academic years, the peer mentoring program underwent significant enhancements. Program information was distributed to incoming students prior to the start of classes, and peer mentors were incorporated into 'welcome to campus' type events. These changes improved incoming engagement with the program. Next steps are to implement a similar peer mentoring program in other academic units across the university. If the success is realized in other disciplines, then the model presented here could be successful at other institutions.