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In 2017, the ETSU Library developed a peer-mentoring program targeting transfer students from local community colleges. The intent was to ease the transition from community college to our four-year university, to help students establish an ETSU identity before arriving on campus, and to offer undergraduates research help from trained peers.

In an effort to expand information literacy throughout our institution and to reach students who may not make it to the library for research help, our library faculty have developed a peermentoring program. The Library Ambassador Program entails hiring undergraduate students, providing them with two semesters of information literacy instruction and deploying them across campus to help students with their research.

Limited involvement of youth with developmental disabilities (DD) in mentoring programs has resulted in limited knowledge about the quality and impact of these relationships. The self-disclosure process has been identified as one factor impacting relationship development (Reis & Shaver, 1988). We proposed a theoretical model to examine the role of the self-disclosure process as a mechanism in peer mentoring relationship development for transition-age youth with DD by determining if self-disclosure occurred, the type of information shared, how peer mentors responded, and if the process differed by perceived relationship quality. This retrospective, observational study purposefully selected nine peer mentoring dyads from a problem-solving intervention with a peer mentoring component to examine relationships judged by the researchers, peer mentors, and peer mentor supporters to be of variable quality (strong, moderate, weak), including 9 youth and 5 peer mentors with DD. Peer mentoring included 8 structured calls each with specific objectives. Phone call recordings were coded and dyads were grouped by perceived quality to determine how the self-disclosure process differed by relationship quality. The findings indicated self-disclosure occurred in each relationship at high rates (59%) and peer mentors responded to almost all self-disclosures (98%). A higher quantity of self-disclosure and more frequent disclosure of emotions were found in relationships of higher quality. Peer mentors in higher quality relationships more frequently responded to self-disclosure with advice or their own self-disclosure. Implications of findings and use of the self-disclosure process as a mechanism for promoting high quality peer mentoring relationships are discussed.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a life-altering injury that can impact global functioning. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that yearly 2.2 million Americans experience a TBI, a large portion of whom are children and young adults who then face the prospect of attending university. Data emphasizes the number of younger individuals who may experience symptoms that can limit their ability to complete post-secondary education and continue on to the workforce (Allen & D'Amato, 2010). Individuals who experience a TBI have limited opportunities for advancement due to cognitive challenges and require additional support to achieve their full potential. To address the well-documented academic and employment-related obstacles that may await postsecondary students with TBI following their injuries, Project Career, a multi-site five-year initiative funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) was designed to promote the use of cognitive support technology (CST) and intensive case management to improve employment success among college and university students with TBI. The changes in behavior, emotions, communication and physical health experienced after sustaining a TBI are unique to each person, highlighting a need for individualized treatment and support (Cicerone, 2002; Whyte, Polansky, Fleming, Coslett, & Cavallucci, 1995). “Peer Connections for Success: A mentoring program for university students with TBI” will seek to develop a program that uses peer interaction to create individualized support that is grounded in theory and informed by the evidence. Several theories will guide the creation of the intervention; Social Comparison Theory (Festinger, 1954) and Adult Learning Theory (Knowles, 1984) both of which contribute to the best methods of learning for this population. Programs such as this have been applied to different populations however the evidence is limited for use with students with TBI. Evidence was collected to support the methods, assessments, and processes that were utilized in the program.

Student Success continues to be a topic of great interest in the Higher Education Literature. Fifty percent of those students who enter a four-year institution actually graduate and 25 % of first year students do not persist into their second year in college. First-year success courses and peer mentoring along with other programming strategies have been developed to improve retention and success for college students during their first-year of college. This study explored how college students from nine different institutions defined college student success. In addition, students from these institutions were surveyed to find out how and if first-year success courses and/or peer mentoring contribute to college student success. Follow-up interviews allowed for a deeper understanding of how first-year success courses and peer mentoring contribute to college student success. The study found a new comprehensive definition for college student success. Also, first-year success courses and peer mentoring do have positive relationships with college student success however, they also have some shortcomings that were identified in this study.

This study examined the self-reported perceptions of post-secondary Aboriginal students who were part of a peer mentoring relationship in the Promoting Aboriginal Community Together (PACT) program at the University of Manitoba. PACT supports Aboriginal students transitioning into university life by providing participants with social and academic development, activities, as well as the opportunity to be mentored by an upper-level Aboriginal student. This study asked whether their participation helped them persist in their academic goals and whether peer mentoring as an engagement strategy affects the sense of belonging to the university. The qualitative research design of this phenomenological study permitted a probing of the interview data documenting the experiences of the ten participants, Aboriginal students who had participated in PACT. Among the ways in which participants benefitted from PACT was expressed in themes such as: opportunity to participate in community with other Aboriginal students, networking, overcoming shyness, and getting academic advice. / May 2016

Since South Africa’s democratic government was elected to power in 1994, much attention has been given to restructuring the country’s education system. Peer-mentoring is one approach to meet current challenges in education given high teacher:learner ratios, greater diversity in student population and majority of learners being taught in English, their second and even third language. This research examined the impact of a peermentoring reading intervention with second language Grade 9 learners. The study utilized a sample of Grade 9 learners (N = 173) from a school in Gauteng. Biographical information was obtained and these learners were pre-tested in Grade 8 and post-tested in Grade 9 2007, using the Stanford Diagnostic Reading Test (SDRT). The entire Grade 9 group received the reading intervention for three months and their results were compared to a comparison group from the previous year who received no intervention. Results of learners’ vocabulary, comprehension and academic achievement scores were compared. Although both the comparison and the experimental groups showed an improvement on their vocabulary and comprehension scores, the experimental group’s gains were significantly higher. Of the Grade 9 experimental group, 30 learners (mentees) received individual paired reading mentoring and their scores were examined to determine the extent of improvement. The mentees group showed similar significant gains in their vocabulary and comprehension scores, and showed an overall improvement in their academic marks. Challenges faced, limitations and recommendations for future study are discussed.