2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

As previous studies recognize, the transition from school to college often requires a support system for students [1]. In engineering education, mentoring plays a crucial role in student success by providing personalized guidance and fostering a sense of community [2]. Mentors assist with academic challenges, decision-making, and personal development. While most research focuses on mentoring for research activities, there is also a need for general advising on course selection, internships, and personal concerns [3].

This work in progress explores the needs and expectations of students in a faculty mentoring program within an Electrical and Computer Engineering department at a large public university. Students meet their assigned faculty mentors once per semester, with meetings varying from one-on-one sessions to group discussions, either in person or online. These sessions cover diverse topics, offering personalized guidance and peer mentoring aiming to enhance retention and self-esteem [4]. Attendance is mandatory, and students must schedule appointments based on faculty availability.

In the initial part of this work in progress, three ECE faculty members held one-on-one, in-person meetings with their mentees. After these meetings, mentees were invited to complete an online survey about their mentoring experiences and preferences. The survey covered students’ opinion for topics discussed during the meetings, useful resources, and the duration and frequency of meetings.

This study presents the results of the second phase of the work. In this phase, several faculty members conducted mentoring meetings in small groups and mixed one-on-one/group format. After the meetings, the same surveys were distributed again to collect students’ feedback. This paper presents the findings from these surveys, discusses students’ preferences between the available meeting formats, and provides the faculty’s perspective on the benefits of each format with respect to students’ preferences.

References:

[1]  M. S. Jaradat, and M. B. Mustafa, “Academic Advising and Maintaining Major: Is There a Relation?,” Social Sciences, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 151, 2017.

[2] Lucietto, A. M., & Dell, E., & Cooney, E. M., & Russell, L. A., & Schott, E. (2019, June), Engineering Technology Undergraduate Students: A Survey of Demographics and Mentoring Paper presented at 2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Tampa, Florida.

[3] Banerjee, J. K. (2020, June), Mentoring Undergraduate Students in Engineering Paper presented at 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual On line . 10.18260/1-2--34968

[4]  R. Collings, V. Swanson, and R. Watkins, “The impact of peer mentoring on levels of student wellbeing, integration and retention: a controlled comparative evaluation of residential students in UK higher education,” Higher Education, vol. 68, no. 6, pp. 927- 942, 2014.