Multiple-Mentors: The Benefit of Peer and Faculty Mentors for STEM Majors

Talented STEM students emerge from all socioeconomic backgrounds. Yet, students from high-income households have a higher likelihood of pursuing and obtaining a STEM college degree than students from low-income households (Camera, 2017; NCES, 2022; Niu, 2017). To enhance the graduation rates for students from low-income households, three institutes of higher education collaborated to create a more accessible STEM education pathway which was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF #1742224). This novel pathway included STEM students enrolling in either a community college, a small private university, or a large public university. All students received a scholarship, an undergraduate research experience, and a peer and faculty mentor in a STEM discipline. This qualitative study investigated if and how this program was of benefit to STEM students from primarily low-income households. Data collection efforts yielded thirty-eight distinct participants for confidential interviews and thirty completed anonymous surveys. Data analysis included an exploration of the ways in which STEM majors tapped peer and faculty mentors for support in critical moments, such as wanting to exit their major or pass introductory STEM coursework. Approximately 77% of STEM majors who participated in this NSF-funded program have either graduated with a STEM degree or remain in a STEM major two-years after entering the program.