2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

An intergenerational peer mentoring program was established at an architectural engineering program in the Midwest with the intent of improving student retention and fostering feelings of connectedness. The program unites students across all years of the undergraduate program and 5th year masters' students in groups mentored by professional engineers practicing in industry. The program was implemented within the curriculum of a required zero-credit hour seminar course and has expanded to include activities outside of class time. Prior retention theory and interventions were considered to develop a robust assessment method with the goal of evaluating the impact of the mentoring program on student retention and connectedness in the classroom. Impact on retention was examined through term-to-term mentor group rosters within the seminar course and through seven items from two subscales from the College Persistence Questionnaire. Community and camaraderie among students were measured by adapting a version of the Feelings of Connectedness subscale of the Classroom Community Scale. Initial results from the program’s operation over the first three years of operation illustrate an increase in the retention of first-year students and awareness of industry professionals, though the effects of the program alone cannot be easily parsed apart from other institutional factors. Feelings of community significantly differed across channel groups, indicating that within-group behaviors may need to be further assessed. From the assessment of the program’s operation to date, a framework for future implementation is outlined for use at other institutions.