AN EVALUATION OF A PEER-MENTORING PROGRAMME IN A SCHOOL OF PSYCHOLOGY AIMED AT INCREASING STUDENT ENGAGEMENT

The issue of student dropout challenges universities throughout the world. Reasons for dropout are varied but often centre on unmet expectations and difficulties in adapting to college life and a new way of learning. Efforts to retain students until completion of their degree programmes focus on the development of support systems that can help to bridge the transition from second to third level education. In a study on student retention in University College Dublin (UCD), Matthews and Mulkeen (2003) found that wrong choice of course was the main reason for student dropout. After this, lack of interaction with staff, unfriendly atmosphere, poor sense of community and lack of friends were the main reasons cited by non-completers for their decision to leave. A couple of the key recommendations of this student retention study were to introduce a mentoring or buddy system for first year students and to promote an environment that fosters socialising but where alcohol is not the focus of all events. It was on this basis that the School of Psychology in UCD initiated and implemented a student engagement peer-mentoring programme for first year students, where first year students are assigned final year student mentors. The present study is an evaluation of the successes and limitations of this programme, an essential step in further developing effective mentoring programmes in UCD. Fifty-six first year psychology students (70% of the class) completed questionnaires assessing their attitudes towards the university and staff, their levels of engagement and various other questions about their experiences so far and aspirations for the future. These questionnaires were completed in the first month of both the first and second semesters. Findings from this study will be discussed in relation to the effectiveness of the mentoring programme and limitations of the current design of the programme. Students also provided qualitative feedback on how the programme could be improved and this presentation will discuss what improvements are to be implemented in the new academic year.