Engineering Student Perceptions of Combined Faculty and Peer Academic Performance

There has been a nationwide effort to increase the number, caliber, and diversity of the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce. Research on student development shows that while there is a need, providing financial aid alone is not a sufficient factor for academic success of low-income academically talented college students. Thus, Hostos Community College has recently created the NSF-funded Hostos Engineering Academic Talent (HEAT) Scholarship Program which offers its scholars financial support and experience with a combined mentoring model where students work with faculty and peers during the academic year. This research then systematically investigated the impact of a combined faculty- and peer-mentorship approach with a population not yet studied, undergraduate STEM students at minority-serving community colleges. Preliminary data indicates that the combined mentoring approach has positive effects on scholar’s academic performance and STEM identity. The findings are expected to be generalizable to other populations, and hence provide an opportunity to expand the combined mentorship model to other STEM programs at a variety of institutions whose students could benefit from its implementation.