Running head: U.

S COLLEGE STUDENTS LITERATURE REVIEW 1

U.S. College Students Literature Review: Using Targeted Peer Mentorship to Improve Retention

Dan Dunne

Northern Illinois University  

 
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Introduction

Throughout each academic year, a higher education institution will face countless

challenges with students, faculty, and administration. Arguably, however, one of the challenges

most vital to an institution's continuous growth and survival is the successful onboarding of first-

year students. Depending on how well an institution can guide students through this transition, a

significant decline or growth in the overall student retention will result. Providing additional

forms of support, such as an early partnering of students with a peer mentorship program, can

produce positive results in overall student retention.

Purpose of this Paper

This literature review will analyze current institution-wide trends and research findings

related to the effectiveness of mentorship programs utilized within higher education institutions.

This paper will focus specifically on how the use of peer mentorship programs can be useful in

positively impacting marginalized groups, such as first-generation students and minoritized black

students, who statistically have the lowest first-year retention rates. Through gaining a better

understanding of how to support learning, build community, and improve retention for these

groups, an institution can determine if these programs should be established, continue, or

discontinue moving forward.

Target Populations

Before investigating the trending statistics that support the application of a programmatic

intervention like peer mentoring, it is first essential to specify which student populations these

initiatives will seek to support. The following two demographics of students are separate, but as

with any intersecting demographics, these populations may be more entangled then previously

thought. With taking this overlap into account, the intersection of these two student populations

 
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represents some of the most highly vulnerable incoming students who would be well suited for

increased focus and support from any institution’s administration.

First-Generation Students

First-generation college students are defined as “students from families where neither

parent had more than a high-school education” (Pascarella et al., 2004, p. 249). Besides, often

being the first in their family to attend a higher education institution, these students are often

struggling against multiple social and economic factors that rarely impact most traditional

students. Although first-generation students' college persistence rates are 15% lower than their

peers with college-educated parents, the economic opportunity of a baccalaureate degree

provides the most significant pathway to upward mobility for these students and their families

(Pike & Kuh, 2005).

One of the biggest challenges for first-generation students attending a higher education

institution as the first in their family comes from the lack of preparation and context-setting that

is often taken for granted by students whose parents attended college. This lack of guidance from

family as well as high school counselors is a massive factor in their overall college readiness,

academic self-concept, and can lower their own expectations of attainment. First-generation

students are also less likely to participate in extracurricular activities, due to often having to

commute to and from campus from a family home. They are also more likely to be working part

or full-time while attending college (Grace-Odeleye & Santiago, 2019). For these reasons, a first-

generation student could see many advantages to having an additional academic partner in their

corner when beginning their journey towards a degree.

 
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Minoritized Students

Black, Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, and Native American students make up the

population of the minoritized student demographic. Over the past fifty years, these minoritized

students or people of color, have been enrolling in college in considerably larger numbers every

year (Stewart, 2013). Making broad statements on the entirety of the widely varying and

culturally independent groups that belong within the moniker of a minoritized student is not a

credible approach to targeted student support. Additionally, a student may be part of a

minoritized group that has nothing to do with race or culture. A student may belong to a

minoritized student group simply due to their socio-economic status, the designation of their

citizenship, or because of their sexual or gender identities, to name a few.

For this review, the term minoritized student will be focused on the African-American or

minoritized Black student demographic. This focus on a smaller portion of the entire minoritized

student body is because, as studies in this review show, these students have much to gain through

relational support systems in higher education. In Overcoming Educational Racism in the

Community College, Angela Long (2016) says that minoritized Black students also represent a

significant percentage of the broad minoritized student population, accounting for around a third

of the minoritized student populations represented on campus. When considering this large

percentage of students in conjunction with the statistic that approximately 32% of minoritized

Black students experienced degree completion within six years of study, it is clear that this

population requires some assistance (Long, 2016).

The Issue/Problem Defined

Higher education is at a turning point concerning the changing of incoming student

demographics. As more first-generation students and students of color begin to attend college,

 
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archaic support structures have become less effective in impacting these new populations. This

failure to accommodate the incoming student population often results in a smaller pool of

applicants and struggling retention rates of these susceptible groups. The issue is multifaceted.

Investigating what the literature has to say about the decreasing enrollment and retention rates is

an important place to start. However, what is less obvious, but essential to research in these

deteriorating trends, are the reasons why these numbers are decreasing and what needs to occur

to influence what is happening between these two prominent markers positively.

Falling Enrollment Statistics and Trends

In the last several years, numerous higher education institutions have shown decreases in

student enrollment. According to enrollment data available on The Integrated Postsecondary

Education Data System (2018) website, overall student enrollment in post-secondary institutions

has been steadily decreasing since 2010-2011. Why is this happening? Potentially this is because

the view that the “American Dream” is attainable through education has become more difficult

for many groups to believe due to lack of access, societal divisions, and limited resources (Long,

2016).

When considering these falling statistics in conjunction with the shifting demographics of

the current higher education student population, issues of access, cultural background, and

affordability play prominent roles in the enrollment trends of specific minoritized groups. In

Megan Zahneis’s 2019 article titled Why Has Black-Student Enrollment Fallen, she describes

how the pool of black public-high-school graduates available to enroll in higher education

institutions has fallen dramatically from 2010 to 2017, resulting in the decrease of nearly

365,000 black-college students enrolling during that time. According to Kuh and his colleagues,

there are significant disparities found in high school graduation rates and college readiness

 
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between Whites and Blacks (Kuh et al., 2007). There is little doubt that if these trends endure,

there will be a continued widening of racial inequality within our higher education system.

Falling Retention Statistics and Trends

When these challenging enrollment trends align with decreasing retention rates at the

same institutions, a small pool of potential graduates becomes even smaller. According to a

recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, more than ten percent of the US college

student population has dropped out with some college credit before receiving a diploma (Kirp,

2019). When students attempt to accomplish a degree and have to “stopout” or dropout before

reaching their goals, it speaks a more substantial problem regarding the lack of support they

receive during their studies. Research has also shown that “stopouts”, which start as an

interruption to the pursuit of a degree, have a repetitive effect, thereby making it less likely that a

student will graduate (Renn &Reason, 2013).

What causes a student to terminate the pursuit of their degree goals may relate to forces

outside of a student’s control, thereby impeding upon their ability to retain. These forces impact

first-generation and marginalized student groups at higher rates than other student groups, as

shown in one example by Bean and Metzner’s (1985) model stating that “students’ reports of

financial difficulty were positively related to attrition from college” (p. 503). For these students,

financial difficulties, family obligations, or any of the numerous social barriers that students in

these demographic groups have to face are often more prevalent in their lives than in other

student groups. These challenges can have a detrimental impact on their ability to persist.

Lack of Community and Connection

Many scholars credit the low enrollment and low retention rates to the students’ actual or

perceived lack of support and connection both before and after enrollment at a higher education

 
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institution. As Long (2106) suggests, minoritized Black students from first-generation

backgrounds do not initially have a strong motivation to achieve academically and need to be

convinced of their fit within an institution by intangibles like respect, fair treatment, support

programming, and a strong sense of belonging. Regarding minoritized students who have the

highest risk of dropping out of college without these intangibles, Osei (2019) says, “Black

students have to work harder to create a sense of community because they are a minority group

on campus” (para. 10). This subtle, but impactful decreased sense of belonging among these

vulnerable groups, should be a cause for concern for every institution. With a decreased sense of

community support, students begin to feel more and more isolated and may begin to believe that

they are alone in the purist of their academic goals.

Vincent Tinto’s well-known 1993 Theory of Student Departure model speaks to the

structural and normative integration that influences many students as they acclimate into the

college system. However, when considering the motivators for minoritized and first-generation

students, Jacqueline Fleming in her book Blacks in College states that it is “the impact of

relationships and interactions that motivated Black students to succeed in college, essentially by

establishing a sense of belonging among professors, advisers, counselors and their peers”

(Fleming, 1985 as cited by Long, 2016, p.45). If the research is continuously noting the

importance of relationships in the persistence and academic success rates of these vulnerable

groups, initiating a student support intervention that utilizes relationships with others on campus,

is the clear next step.

Peer Mentoring Interventions

Mentoring programs have recently become more prevalent in education; however, in

order to ensure maximum impact on the populations they serve, they need to be targeted and

 
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consistently reviewed for their effectiveness. For example, when enhancing the success rate of

African American males, institutional characteristics like the access to mentoring and other

relational offerings such as counseling, student-to-faculty interaction, and peer collaboration

within student activities; are all used as viable predictors of student success (Long, 2016). This

increased desire for connection is why institutions need to require students in these higher

retention risk groups to participate in these relational support offerings. In the next section,

research will show how mentoring programs have been used effectively in the past, some of the

benefits and drawbacks, and how these programs can support groups that need them the most.

Historical Background on Implementation of Peer Mentoring in Higher Education

Higher education institutions have the good fortune of having an endless supply of

engaged and eager minds looking for experience. Institutions have long since utilized this

resource by recognizing that these minds can serve to support other students on campus who are

struggling to adapt academically and socially. Since the early 1700s, college and university

campuses have utilized undergraduate students to assist peers academically (Materniak, 1984).

Many of these programs had casual and relatively simple origins. Study groups, learning

communities, and academic fraternities all served to provide academic and interpersonal support

between peers. As Tinto suggests, “involvement in academic or social programs and increased

faculty and peer contact, regardless of major, have been identified as important for institutional

integration and for retaining students in college” (Tinto, 1993).

Roles and Characteristics of Peer Mentors

The variability of styles, priorities, and personalities that can occur within student

mentoring relationships often make overseeing these programs difficult. One way to standardize

these relationships is through researching the roles and characteristics of mentors. Colvin and

 
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Ashman found five specific roles in their 2010 mentorship study: connecting link, peer leader,

learning coach, student advocate, and a trusted friend. When assessing and training senior

student mentors, a mentor must know how to move effortlessly between these roles throughout

their time with their mentee.

Benefits

A well-organized and collaborative peer mentorship program can be successful if it

provides clear intentions, role definition, and ongoing support from administration. As Snowden

& Hardy (2012) have shown, “the mentor enables the mentee to engage in the academic

community quicker, and more efficiently” (para. 8). The benefits of providing a quick adoption

into the university system through a peer mentoring relationship can help a new student in both

the short term and long term.

The number of potential benefits that can be taken from a successful mentorship program

are immeasurable. As Campbell and Campbell (2007) described mentoring of at-risk college

students allows for a student to be more comfortable within their new educational environment,

improves the student’s motivation to succeed, and provides higher aspirations than those who

went without mentors (Campbell & Campbell, 2007). Although these benefits are not always

evident and tangible for research, the intangible benefits of peer mentorship can serve as a bridge

to a more positive academic experience for new students.

As with many educational programs, the ultimate benefit of a well-designed support

system is proven by the program’s ability to be sustainable without substantial administrative

oversight. As stated earlier, operating primarily on a peer-to-peer level would allow for the

mentoring program to fully utilize one of the most beneficial resources that an institution has at

its disposal.

 
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Risks and Drawbacks

Most university-established support systems are believed to result in improved student

outcomes. However, as Maryann Jacobi shows in her 1991 article, despite a growing body of

empirical research there are numerous conflicting definitions of what the outcomes,

characteristics, and distinctions are concerning the mentoring relationship (Jacobi, 1991).

Therefore, a lack of specific definition and thoughtful implementation of these programs can

prevent them from being successful and diminish from the end goal of creating a supportive

relationship for students. Budge (2006) agrees with Jacobi stating the biggest problem of

mentoring programs within higher education is “the lack of consistency in defining Mentoring

among organizations and universities that design mentoring programs” (p. 79).

As mentioned earlier, the high amount of variability in styles of mentors, often due to

inadequate training, can result in student outcomes that may detract from the effectiveness of the

program. In order for peer mentoring to achieve the desired goals of connecting those in need of

a supportive relationship at the start of their academic tenure and those who can give guidance,

program definition, active training, oversight, and management must be provided on the part of

the program administrators.

How Does Peer Mentoring Impact First-Generation Students

Research shows that on average first-generation students enter the university system with

lower confidence and can gain a more significant commitment to graduate when they connect

with someone or some new support system that they deem worthwhile (Grace-Odeleye &

Santiago, 2019). Connecting reluctant and self-doubting first-generation students to a peer

mentoring support system and making the program stick can be challenging initially. First-

generation students have been shown to approach mentoring with a utilitarian point of view

 
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compared to other students, showing they will engage in mentoring until the relationship stops

being useful to them (Mekolichick & Gibbs, 2012). For better or worse, this research puts a lot of

pressure on the mentor and program facilitators to demonstrate ongoing value to these students.

How Does Peer Mentoring Impact Minoritized Black Students

Considering the desires for a sense of belonging within the minoritized Black student

population, the positive impacts of peer mentorship could be numerous. In their article, Osei

(2019) states that these programs can support community building for these smaller populations

on campus. Depending on program definition, these relationships can also provide a culturally

recognizable role model who understands the unique challenges the new student is facing on a

deeper level by the intentional pairing of mentors and mentees. In their 2007 study, Campbell

and Campbell discovered “ethnically matched pairs remained enrolled for more semesters and

accumulated more units than did pairs who were not matched by ethnicity” (Campbell &

Campbell, 2007, p. 321). This research would look to encourage paring minoritized students

together in culturally comparable groups to improve student persistence. However, the research

in this area is lacking. Although Campbell and Campbell show a positive influence in racially

familiar pairings, there is also research that contradicts this statement, proving the exact opposite,

for reasons of expanding both the mentor and mentee’s perspectives throughout the mentoring

process (Budge, 2006).

Implications of Peer Mentoring on Higher Education

After assessing the utility of these programs from the research examined, conflicting

opinions on the effectiveness of these types of student support interventions emerge. Establishing

if these programs have been effective is difficult to determine, due to what has been discovered

to be a large amount of variability in the peer mentorship programming implemented on

 
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campuses around the country. Further research is needed when considering the specific

demographics this literature review examined and how they apply to individual institutions.

Constructing the next steps for the application of these programs from this literature review will

be dependent on each specific institution’s available resources and needs based on the incoming

student population. Regardless of this review's findings and research currently available, the

facts remain that the two populations researched in this paper both show positive influences on

their persistence from increased relational support provided by their academic institutions.

With this concept in mind, four possibilities emerge with how institutions can utilize peer

mentoring interventions moving forward. First, with the changing demographics in higher

education, most institutions will see more first-generation and marginalized students attending

their school. Therefor institutions that do not, at a minimum, have some form of peer mentoring

program described by the literature in this review, need to develop these programs.

When focused on the continued implementation of these programs, specifically for first-

generation and marginalized student groups, there can either be a reduction, continuation, or

expansion. For smaller schools with limited administrative staff and fewer financial resources to

help support these programs, it would be beneficial to utilize these resources for other student

support services versus creating mentorship programs that are not well organized. Institutions

that fit into this category should look to discontinue or reduce the size and scope of programs to

focus on the black and first-generation intersecting student demographics. This narrowed focus,

along with specific program definition, will ensure that the program is thoughtfully applied to the

smallest most vulnerable population that is possible to support with the limited resources at the

institution’s disposal.

 
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When continuing and expanding these programs, it is crucial to take into consideration

what the research says about participant configuration, ideal timeline, and how to scale these

programs at different sized institutions. A more in-depth look at the needs of each specific

institution and the cultural backgrounds of the students participating in these programs will

provide a better idea of how the program should be implemented within the semester and among

different student demographics.

If an institution is seeing significant increases in enrollment and with steady decreases in

retention rates of first-generation and minoritized students, an expansion, promotion, and more

intentional commitment to targeted peer mentoring programs are needed. Regardless, all

institutions should continuously review the effectiveness of their peer mentorship programs,

especially if campus resources are limited, student participation is waning, or if there is an

abundance of alternative support systems competing with peer mentorship programs.

Conclusion

Throughout this review, the research presented in the literature has shown what makes

university-mandated peer mentoring an exciting and dynamic intervention for the improvement

of an institution's most challenging retention rates. When considering the struggles that higher

education institutions are seeing with enrolling and retaining minority and first-generation

students, the push to investigate and implement a supportive and effective practice like

mentoring becomes much more apparent. Institutions can have continued success by advancing

the investigation of the literature and adapting their practices to what the research findings are

showing works with these programs. With more and more students of color and first-generation

students coming to college and universities every year, the time is now to better support them by

providing initiatives to have them better support each other.

 
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