海角直播

When the 海角直播 of Health and Human Sciences (CHHS) launched its peer mentoring program pilot in spring of 2024, the goal was straightforward but urgent: help first鈥憏ear students feel supported and persist in their studies from start to finish. What CHHS discovered, however, was something more powerful: a retention strategy with clear, measurable impact and strong potential for scaling.

Across multiple cohorts, CHHS students who participated in peer mentoring persisted at rates between 85% and 88%, outperforming college鈥憌ide first鈥憏ear retention benchmarks by 12鈥�15 percentage points.

For a program that intentionally started small – serving cohorts of fewer than 50 students – those outcomes stood out.

Evolving a Scalable Approach

The original peer mentoring model relied on required cohort participation, which proved difficult to sustain. In response, CHHS adapted quickly, redesigning the program around accessibility, flexibility, and student choice.

Today, peer mentoring is delivered through a hybrid, opt鈥憃ut model embedded directly in Canvas, where students already engage with their coursework. All first鈥憏ear, first鈥憈ime and first鈥憏ear transfer students are automatically enrolled in a CHHS First鈥慪ear Resource Hub, a Canvas-based course that consolidates academic resources, support services, and regular check鈥慽ns. Students can access help immediately or opt into deeper engagement through one鈥憃n鈥憃ne mentoring and academic support.

Short check鈥慽n surveys built into the course allow students to share how they鈥檙e doing academically and personally. While response rates tend to hover around 10 percent, the data provides a reliable early鈥慳lert mechanism for identifying students who may be struggling and initiating outreach.

Why Peer Mentoring Works

The program鈥檚 success lies as much in consistency as content. Students may not attend every event or request frequent meetings, but knowing someone is checking in can be enough to sustain momentum.

Peer mentors also benefit deeply from the experience. Kayla Feldon, a graduating Criminal Justice and Criminology major and first鈥慻eneration college student, describes being a mentor in the program as transformative.

鈥淏eing part of the Peer Mentor program helped me feel connected and grounded,鈥� Feldon said. 鈥淚t gave me the opportunity to support other students while growing my confidence and leadership skills.鈥�

She believes the sense of belonging created through mentoring plays a critical role in student persistence: 鈥淲hen students feel supported, it鈥檚 easier to stay motivated and keep going.鈥�

Positioned for Growth

With demonstrated outcomes and a flexible delivery model following these pilot cohorts, the program continues to grow, with a Spring 2026 cohort currently underway. And CHHS leaders like Plamp and Parsa see peer mentoring as a strong candidate for expansion.

Planned and potential next steps include targeted cohorts for high鈥憂eed populations, broader departmental representation among mentors, deeper integration into orientation and advising, and increased staffing capacity.

For a modest investment, CHHS peer mentoring is already delivering outsized returns – making it a compelling foundation for strategic scaling focused on student success.

For more information on the CHHS Peer Mentor program and future involvement, please visit the CHHS Academic Advising page Peer Mentor section.听