Effects of a technology-enhanced university peer mentoring program on first-year academic and well-being outcomes

Purpose – Well-trained peer mentors can provide a first line of support to incoming college students, preventing the escalation of early stressors and administrative missteps while promoting students' engagement in helpful resources. MentorPRO, a novel all-in-one mentoring platform, was implemented in a private university in the northeastern USA to support incoming first-year students by pairing them with a trained and paid peer mentor and to provide them with just-in-time resources. Design/methodology/approach – This study used propensity score matching to examine the effects of engaging with MentorPRO on first-year students' academic functioning and linear regression to examine the effects on well-being outcomes. Findings – Greater engagement (as measured by more check-ins and student-initiated messages) was associated with higher end-of-year grade point averages, more course withdrawals and higher levels of self-reported academic self-efficacy, belonging and overall well-being. Originality/value – Implications for scaling access to evidence-based interventions and bridging gaps in student services are discussed.