Two peer-reviewed studies, 2,572 first-year students, and a measured link between engagement and grades.
Northeastern UniversityBoston, Massachusetts
By the numbers
2,572
First-year students who used the platform, 53 percent of the eligible class
PEER REVIEWED Werntz et al. 2026, International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education. 4,832 eligible first-year students.
725
Students who used the platform for at least three months
PEER REVIEWED Werntz et al. 2026. In this group, more messaging was associated with stronger belonging, academic self-efficacy and well-being. More check-ins were associated with academic self-efficacy and well-being, but not significantly with belonging.
2
Peer-reviewed studies published on the program
PEER REVIEWED Werntz et al. 2023, Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science. Werntz et al. 2026, International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education.
Northeastern made app-supported peer mentoring available to every incoming first-year student and studied what happened over two years. Two peer-reviewed papers came out of it. More check-ins and more messages to peer mentors were both associated with higher end-of-year grade point averages, after controlling for prior academic risk. Both studies are observational, so they establish association rather than cause. More messaging was also associated with more course withdrawals.
Peer mentoring at Northeastern University.
Program facts
Organization
Northeastern University
Segment
Higher education, large private research university
Population
All incoming first-year undergraduates, opt-in
Model
Trained and paid peer mentors using goal setting, weekly check-ins and secure messaging, with referrals to campus services
Measurement window
Two academic years, 2021-22 and the following year
Comparison group
Propensity score matching on gender, age, first-generation status, underrepresented minority status and high school GPA
Analysis
Independent peer review. Werntz, Jasman, Simeon, Gunasekaran, Yowell and Rhodes (2023). Werntz, Deng, Jasman, Yowell and Rhodes (2026).
Note
The platform is named MentorHub in the first paper and MentorPRO in the second. It is the same system.
I think this is probably the most helpful program our school has ever come out with.
Salem State’s first-year retention went from 76 to 82 percent.
Salem State adopted MentorPRO alongside an intentional shift toward goal-directed peer mentoring. Program leaders report that first-year retention, which had averaged 76 percent, reached 82 percent in the first year of the new model. Retention is associated with many factors, and these figures are the program's own reporting.
Most programs are seeing a 5 to 10 percent improvement in retention and a 25 to 30 percent ROI. Our first-year retention has been averaging 76 percent. This year, using MentorPRO, and adopting intentional goal-directed mentoring, we retained 82 percent.
Seventy-two percent of the CLA First cohort logged in, and check-ins started in week one.
CLA First is a learning community in the College of Liberal Arts at UMass Boston, where paid peer mentors support first-year students from orientation through graduation. In the first three weeks of the 2026 cohort, 108 of roughly 150 students logged in and 76 of them completed a check-in. The partnership began with this one learning community and has since spread to the College of Management and the Manning College of Nursing and Health Sciences.
I am a peer mentor for the CLA First! Program, so as someone who heavily utilizes and depends on MentorPro, I am able to say that I am a major fan! MentorPRO has allowed me to further connect with my first-year mentees and I've been able to assist them in their first couple semesters of college.
Salem State UniversitySalem, Massachusetts