Onondaga Community College Fosters Belonging & Culture of Care with Peer Mentorship

Onondaga Community College (OCC) cares about their students, and not just as it pertains to graduation rates. Their focus has always been on the actual well being of their students. Part of OCC's culture of care includes peer and alumni mentor support through Mentor Collective; a support to not only demonstrate their commitment to student success, but a mechanism that gives administrators and leaders critical real-time data about the student experience via peer-to-peer interactions. In the pilot program during the 21-22 academic year, the addition of near-peer mentor support contributed to an increase student sense of belonging by almost 19%, and an increase in academic self-efficacy by more than 8%.