Belonging, Participation, and Student Success: Evaluating the Academic Impact of the Biology Mentor Program at the University of Mississippi

Author

• Cole B. Davidson, University of Mississippi Main CampusFollow

Date of Award

Spring 5-7-2026

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Department

Biology

First Advisor

Rebecca Symula

Second Advisor

Nicole Lewis

Third Advisor

Josh Eyler

Relational Format

MLA

Abstract

This thesis examines whether students’ sense of belonging within the biology department and their participation in the University of Mississippi Biology Mentor Program are associated with success in introductory biology. The project used de-identified departmental survey data and program records collected across multiple semesters in the broader archive from fall 2020 through spring 2025. For the final analyses, course outcome records, mentor attendance records, and survey based belonging records were merged by student code and semester. After removing nonbinary outcome labels and retaining cases with usable belonging data, the analytic sample included 4,299 student-semester records. The primary outcome was a department coded binary course success variable. The predictors were a composite belonging score and percentage attendance at mentor meetings.

Analyses were conducted in R using logistic regression. Three nested models were compared, which are a belonging only model, an additive model including belonging and attendance, and a full interaction model including the product of belonging and attendance. The interaction model fit best, with the lowest Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and a statistically significant improvement over the additive model. Belonging was positively associated with success, attendance was positively associated with success, and the belonging by attendance interaction was negative but statistically significant. This interaction indicates that mentoring participation did not simply add the same benefit for every student; rather, the association between attendance and success varied across levels of belonging.

The results support three main conclusions. First, students with higher perceived belonging were more likely to experience successful course outcomes. Second, students who attended mentor meetings more frequently also had higher probabilities of success. Third, the practical effect of attendance appeared strongest among students whose belonging was lower or more moderate. Visual inspection of the fitted probability curve did not suggest one sharp attendance threshold; instead, success increased gradually across the participation range. Overall, the findings suggest that the Biology Mentor Program functions as both an academic support structure and a mechanism for building connection to the biology department. The study provides evidence for continuing and refining the program while also highlighting the need for future analyses using continuous grades, additional student level covariates, and semester specific comparisons.

Recommended Citation

Davidson, Cole B., "Belonging, Participation, and Student Success: Evaluating the Academic Impact of the Biology Mentor Program at the University of Mississippi" (2026). Honors Theses. 3561.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/3561