2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This abstract is for a WIP paper. Effective mentoring is essential for faculty success, professional growth, and retention in engineering, yet few faculty members receive structured opportunities to develop or assess their mentoring skills. The EngEx Mentor Network program was developed to address this gap by fostering mentoring competencies among engineering faculty. A core component of the program is the Mentoring Competency Assessment (MCA) tool, a self-assessment tool adapted from the validated Mentoring Competency Assessment framework developed by Fleming et al. (2013). The MCA self-assessment tool measures six domains of mentoring competence contextualized for engineering faculty development: maintaining effective communication, aligning expectations, assessing understanding, addressing well-being, fostering independence, and promoting professional development.

This ongoing study, approved by the university’s Institutional Review Board (IRB), seeks to examine the mentoring competencies of engineering faculty participants before and after engagement in the EngEx Mentor Network program. The primary research objectives are to (1) identify baseline mentoring competency profiles among faculty, (2) explore how engagement in targeted development virtual modules influences faculty self-assessment of mentoring skills, and (3) inform the design of future faculty development interventions that intentionally build mentoring capacity.

Faculty participants complete the MCA self-assessment tool during program onboarding and again at program completion. Between assessments, they engage in themed virtual modules that combine evidence-based content, peer discussion, and reflective practice around mentoring. For example, sessions on aligning expectations prompt participants to analyze case studies and create mentoring compacts, while modules on addressing well-being focus on creating safe and intentional environments and conversations through practice activities and podcasts. These structured learning opportunities support faculty in translating abstract mentoring concepts into concrete, discipline-relevant practices.

While data collection is ongoing, it is anticipated that results will provide insight into common mentoring strengths and areas of growth within engineering departments. The development of the MCA self-assessment tool and the EngEx Mentor Network program also contributes to the broader field by offering a replicable model for adapting validated mentoring instruments to specific academic and disciplinary contexts.
Ultimately, this work positions mentoring as a learnable, measurable competency and highlights the value of assessment-informed faculty development. The EngEx Mentor Network program approach demonstrates how engineering colleges can embed reflection, assessment, and intentional practice into mentoring initiatives to cultivate effective and sustainable mentoring cultures across faculty ranks. This paper will be presented as a poster.