History and Impact of Peer Mentors
in University Studies

Candyce Reynolds, Ph.D. (2003)
To Improve the Academy, 21, 225-237.

PDF version

In many other academic settings, a mentor is an experienced student who works with new students to aid in the adjustment to college. At Portland State University, the role of mentor is much broader. PSU mentors fulfill many roles, including role models, teachers, community builders, translators and more. The use of these mentors has contributed to the success of the Freshman and Sophomore Inquiry programs in ways that we had not anticipated at the inception of the program. This paper will explore the history of this program, the role of the mentor and explore insights on the impact of the program on students, faculty, and mentors, themselves.

History

The Faculty Senate at PSU initiated a new general education program, University Studies, in 1994. A Faculty Working Group developed the four-year general education based on Higher Education research on student success. Alexander Astin's work (1992) figured prominently in the development of the program as a whole and specifically in the development of a mentor program in support of the general education reform. Astin (1992) described several factors that were correlated with positive effects in general education: student-student interaction, faculty-student interaction, discussing racial/ethnic issues with other students, hours devoted to studying, tutoring other students, and an institutional emphasis on diversity. University Studies was developed to address these issues within its curricular design.

The role of "Peer Mentor" was created to enhance student experiences in these areas also. Peer Mentors were assigned to individual faculty teaching Freshman Inquiry. Peer Mentors, who are upper-division undergraduates, attend the three-hour main section of the course and lead "mentor sessions" one hour twice a week with smaller groups of students. Originally, the primary role of mentor was to serve as a tutor of sorts for the main class. The mentor session would provide students opportunities to connect with each other in a smaller context and receive help from the mentors and fellow students on the coursework and in adjusting to college. As a student moved into Sophomore Inquiry, they would work with a Graduate Mentor in a similar fashion.

We have found that mentors have served these expected roles and beyond. In fact, we have found that mentors seem to be an integral part of our success in university studies in ways that we would never have imagined.

The Current Role of the Mentor

As mentioned earlier, the role of the Mentor in Freshman Inquiry and Sophomore Inquiry has evolved to include a multiplicity of tasks and functions. While being sensitive to the primacy of the faculty role in Freshman and Sophomore Inquiry, mentors now engage fully in a partnership with faculty to deliver the curriculum. Not only are they teachers, they are friends, facilitators of discussion and activities, technology trainers, role models and guidance counselors.

During the first years of University Studies, it became evident that mentors were more than just "tutors" and "guides." As with any institutional transformation process, the first years are a bit rocky. Faculty in Freshman Inquiry learned quickly that their mentors were valued colleagues in developing and delivering curriculum, managing classroom conduct, and providing collegial support as faculty endeavored to transform their own teaching strategies. Of significant importance in the first years, mentors served as a communication bridge between faculty and students aiding faculty and program administrators with valuable feedback on the impact of the program on students.

The mentor role today continues to be broad and multidimensional. As program administrators saw the role expanding, specific training and mentor support mechanisms were instituted.

Currently, the program employs 39 upper division undergraduate Peer Mentors and 32 Graduate Mentors. The positions are highly competitive and draw some of PSU's most talented and well-rounded students. Peer mentors are chosen for their academic skills (3.0 minimum GPA is required), interpersonal skills, problem-solving skills, and commitment to program goals. At this point in the development of the University Studies program, the majority of the Peer Mentors have been enrolled in the University Studies General Education classes and describe part of their motivation to be mentors as a way to give back to a program that was helpful in their own academic and personal development.

Peer Mentors receive a Laurel's Scholarship (a state funded academic scholarship) that pays for their tuition and a small monthly stipend as compensation.

Graduate Mentors are chosen for the same qualities as Peer Mentors. In addition, we look for candidates' ability to approach learning from an interdisciplinary point of view. Graduate Mentors come from a variety of disciplines. A majority of them describe being attracted to the position because they want experience in interdisciplinary approaches to teaching and learning. Many describe being able to get more teaching experience than if they were Graduate Assistants in their home departments. Graduate Mentors are appointed as .30 FTE Graduate Assistants and receive tuition remission and a monthly stipend.

Writing an inclusive job description for mentors is difficult. (An attempt at a general job description is attached.) All mentors are trained in collaborative/cooperative teaching methods, community building techniques, diversity education, teaching of writing, technology applications, and group/team development skills. Mentors are also trained in accessing campus and community resources. Minimally, mentors attend the main class sessions as an active participant in the course. Peer Mentors meet with small groups of students twice a week for one hour and Graduate Mentors meet once a week for one hour with small groups of students. Faculty and mentors ideally meet at least once a week to plan curriculum and discuss course and student progress. Graduate Mentors share the grading of assignments with faculty and Peer Mentors have input into the Mentor Session portion of student grades.

Because faculty and mentors enter into a partnership to work on a particular course, the role of the individual mentor is dependent on what each brings to the enterprise. In some ways, this is what makes the Mentor Program so unique and successful. There is not one "correct" way for a mentor to work. Faculty and mentors work together to create strategies that incorporate their personalities and strengths in order to contribute to their student's success. Mentors, in collaboration with their faculty often bring their unique talents and experiences into the classroom and the mentor sessions. For example, faculty can assign more complex technology assignments when they have a mentor who has extensive technology experience. A faculty with a English major mentor can confidently assign peer review during the mentor session. Mentors often influence the chose of texts and assignments. Mentors always provide valuable feedback to the faculty about how the course is being perceived by students and how the course and assignments could be improved.

Impact of the Mentor Program

We have observed that the Mentor Program has had an enormous impact on the students, the faculty and the mentors themselves. Again, it would have been hard to predict the breadth and extent of the impact of mentors at the inception of the program. The challenge for University Studies is to continue to investigate and document the impact of the Mentor Program.

Impact on Students. Students often speak during focus groups and in other settings about the role of their mentor in their success and comfort level at the university. As PSU is an urban institution that attracts first-generation college students or other non-traditional students, student retention and success is often dependent on how comfortable a student feels in this particular academic environment. Mentors, just by their presence, are strong role models of success in the university and a sign that students are valued at the university.

In addition, mentors role model and teach their students academic coping skills. There aren't many places today where students can get such pragmatic help as how to approach a complex text, how to read an assignment and how to see the broader and personal implications of any given topic. Time and stress management are often topics of discussion and mentors can speak from a uniquely current place about how to balance the multiple roles of a modern, urban student. Mentors share what works and doesn't work in academia. Coaching and "disciplining" of students happens once or twice a week and students seem to welcome rather than reject this encouragement from someone they consider a peer.

Perhaps anyone new to a challenging endeavor (as in being a Freshman or Sophomore university student) is likely to have difficulty interacting with those they perceive as having power over them. We have learned that mentors serve as a unique bridge between faculty and students. Mentors hear honest reflections from students about their experience at the university, in the class and in their personal lives. Faculty in the first years were shocked by the information that their students shared with mentors about their lives, things they did not often hear about in other types of general education courses. Domestic violence, homelessness, mental illness, lack of parental support and lack of academic preparation are all things that mentors tend to be more privy due to their "in-between" status. Knowing what a student is dealing with empowers both faculty and mentor to aid in helping the student, thus aiding in student academic progress.

Faculty also learned that students are much more likely to approach an "in-between" person about their concerns about the course, the assignments and their performance in the course. The "just in time" feedback that mentors have been able to provide faculty has greatly enhanced student success in a course. How often do faculty explain away the lack of class enthusiasm and success to lack of motivation on the students' art? Mentors' timely, but diplomatic feedback has enabled faculty to adjust their teaching to better meet students' needs.

Mentors also serve as a bridge to faculty by encouraging and modeling discussion with faculty. Students new to academia are often intimidated by faculty and have difficulty engaging the faculty-student interactions that are so important to student success. Mentors often walk that fine line between providing for the baby bird and nudging them out of the nest.

Students often describe finding a first friend at PSU in their mentor and making connections with fellow students in their Freshman Inquiry mentor sessions. In a large urban university that serves primary commuter students, Freshman Inquiry and especially the mentor sessions offer some sense of "home" on campus.

Impact on Faculty

While this area has not been studied systematically, there is evidence that mentors have had a significant impact on faculty development. Many faculty have talked about the unique opportunity to have a "colleague" to discuss their course with. Often for the first time, faculty have someone they can muse with about why a certain student seems to respond adversely to certain content and why that lecture didn't quite captivate their audience in the way they had planned.

Faculty report that their teaching and their own learning have improved due to their work with a mentor. The continuous feedback loop allows them to continually fine-tune their curriculum. Often input from mentors allows faculty to see their topic of their course with a fresh eye. In addition, faculty report that they enjoy getting to know their students better through their input and the mentor's encouragement of students to use their office hours. Mentors help faculty reconnect with why they decided to teach in the first place.

Impact on Mentors

As with many peer helping programs, the greatest impact of the Mentor Program may be on the mentors themselves. While mentors, as a whole, are extremely successful students before they become mentors, they seem to become even better students. In spite of increased commitments and incredible challenges, mentors GPAs, in general, improve. Mentors describe that mentoring forces them to organize themselves and their schoolwork. They have little free time and they also feel the pull to be an example for their students. Academics seem to improve also because not only are the students in the course learning to approach academic material in new ways, mentors are too. They often describe understanding material at a much greater depth than they had previously.

Because mentors are keenly aware of the goals of University Studies, they become keenly aware of the presence or lack of presence of these qualities in their own learning. If one could measure the extent of growth in the four goals of University Studies, mentors would clearly exceed their student's progress. Those who teach learn the most. For mentors this seems especially true. Mentors report significant improvement in the achievement in all four goals. Mentors describe being better writers, better critical thinkers, and better citizens as part of being a mentor.