2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This Work In Progress paper will describe how the engineering advising team at a large land-grant university has created and is building a Peer Advising Program. The Peer Advising Program is an innovative advising approach to increase the engagement of first-year engineering students.
The Peer Advising Program serves to meet the students’ need for information and provides a peer system for this exchange. Peer Advisers offer technical and low-level advising support to promote academic excellence for student success. Participating students grow through the realization of enhanced self-advocacy skills.
During development, the program designers used several similar existing programs as benchmarks, consulted with other institutions within the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA), and explored academic advising literature on the role that peer advisers play in the undergraduate experience, guided by the university and college values and mission as well as the NACADA Core Values.
In the Fall of 2018, a Graduate Assistant was hired to lead the program's development efforts and supervise the Peer Advisers in the first year of implementation. Peer Advisers were trained through several formal sessions focusing on available resources, academic timelines, role boundaries, diversity/inclusion, and technical knowledge of online student platforms such as Starfish, Canvas, and the University registration system. The program was implemented in Fall 2019 with nine rising Junior-level Peer Advisors in varying Engineering majors and has grown to 23 currently serving this year, with several experienced Peer Advisers serving as Leads with additional responsibilities such as planning social and professional development events for the Peer Adviser group. In addition to talking with students one-on-one, peer advisers give presentations throughout the year to increase awareness about the program and offer information about their experiences to current and prospective engineering students.
A one-credit course has recently been developed to formalize the development of peer mentoring skills through self-evaluation and reflection of soft skills, strengths, and self-purpose. This course has been offered as an experimental section and is currently being submitted for university curricular review.
Structured individual touchpoints throughout the semester monitor that Peer Advisers are experiencing successful student interactions and feel supported in their role. Current assessment of the program is conducted surveys that students complete at the conclusion of their individual peer advising appointment.
This paper will present details of the authors’ experience creating, implementing and assessing this program with the goal of gathering thoughts and suggestions from the broader community that can positively influence the continued implementation and evolution of this impactful student support program.