At a time when college completion is a major issue, and there is
particular concern about the retention of underserved student
populations, peer mentoring programs offer one solution to promoting
student success.
This is a comprehensive resource for creating, refining and sustaining
effective student peer mentoring programs. While providing a blueprint
for successfully designing programs for a wide range of audiences - from
freshmen to doctoral students - it also offers specific guidance on
developing programs targeting three large groups of under-served
students: first-generation students, international students and student
veterans.
This guidebook is divided into two main sections. The opening section
begins by reviewing the issue of degree non-completion, as well as
college adjustment challenges that all students and those in each of the
targeted groups face. Subsequent chapters in section one explore models
of traditional and non-traditional student transition, persistence and
belonging, address what peer mentoring can realistically achieve, and
present a rubric for categorizing college student peer-mentoring
programs. The final chapter in section one provides a detailed framework
for assessing students' adjustment issues to determine which ones peer
mentoring programs can appropriately address.
Section two of the guidebook shifts from the theoretical to the
practical by covering the nuts and bolts of developing a college student
peer-mentoring program. The initial chapter in section two covers a
range of design issues including establishing a program timeline,
developing a budget, securing funding, getting commitments from
stakeholders, hiring staff, recruiting mentors and mentees, and
developing policies and procedures. Subsequent chapters analyze the
strengths and limitations of different program delivery options, from
paired and group face-to-face mentoring to their e-mentoring
equivalents; offer guidance on the creation of program content and
resources for mentors and mentees, and provide mentor training exercises
and curricular guidelines. Section two concludes by outlining processes
for evaluating programs, including setting goals, collecting appropriate
data, and methods of analysis; and by offering advice on sustaining and
institutionalizing programs. Each chapter opens with a case study
illustrating its principal points.
This book is primarily intended as a resource for student affairs
professionals and program coordinators who are developing new
peer-mentoring programs or considering refining existing ones. It may
also serve as a text in courses designed to train future peer mentors
and leaders.
