Impact of an OT Mentorship Program on Student Success in Higher Education

PURPOSE: There is a steady increase in diverse student enrollment in college including first-generation and neurodivergent students. However, research shows that there is a lack of support in higher education in meeting the needs of these diverse populations.The purpose of the study is to examine if participating in an occupational therapy mentorship program (Re-Charge) supports student success for students on academic probation.

DESIGN: This is an exploratory retrospective design. Data was collected from two cohorts of students in the Re-charge program (n=41).

METHOD: Outcome measures used were the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM), a self-efficacy questionnaire, and GPA scores. Qualitative data was collected with a post-program survey. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to look at the differences in occupational performance, occupational satisfaction and self-efficacy and GPA, pre and post test.

RESULTS: Findings showed that there were statistically significant increases in occupational performance (z =5.306, p < 0.001) and occupational satisfaction (z =5.273, p < 0.001) as well as self-efficacy (z =3.211, p < 0.001) and GPA (z =3.285, p < 0.001) after participation in the Re-Charge program. The findings from the post-wrap up survey revealed that students had a positive experience towards the Re-Charge program. Overall, students felt that the program helped them achieve their goals, build supportive relationships, learn about new strategies and learning styles. One response from a student read that ‘They [staff members] were very helpful with everything. When it came to schoolwork, and emotional support, they were really here to guide us into a better path to succeed in school.’

CONCLUSION: The findings of this study support the notion that an OT-based mentorship program can support student success and lends credence to the idea that OTPs can play a unique and valuable role in supporting student success and well-being in higher education.

References

Hauck, A. A., Ward, C., Persutte-Manning, S., & Vaughan, A. L. (2020). Assessing first-year seminar performance with college engagement, academic self-efficacy, and student achievement. Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, 20(4), 88–101. Retrieved from http://libdb.dc.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/assessing-first-year-seminar-performance-with/docview/2437437736/se-2 https://doi.org/10.33423/jhetp.v20i4.2988

Kreider, C. M., Medina, S., & Koedam, H. M. (2021). (Dis)ability-informed mentors support occupational performance for college students with learning disabilities and attention- deficit/hyperactivity disorders through problem-solving and a focus on strengths. The British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 84(5), 263–270. https://doi.org/10.1177/0308022620937636

Startz, D. (2022, April 25). First-generation college students face unique challenges. Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard /2022/04/25/first-generation- college-students-face-unique-challenges/