This is a review of previous literature reviews around peer mentoring as “peer mentoring is often considered the single most effective strategy for increasing student retention and student satisfaction.” (abstract, 265). The role of the peer mentor is often seen as having multiple functions—academic advisor, confidante, friend, study buddy, career advisor, support, and role model. The article highlights the issues with defining mentoring and the importance of “setting the boundary conditions” for mentoring (272). For this paper, they write “mentoring programs had specified function, as did the mentor – to encourage student engagement and their sense of belonging the university.” (272-273). A major conclusion from the paper was that there appears to be no best/standard practice for mentoring, but diversity does matter in these relationships.

Annotation by Eric Hall