2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

While engineering programs emphasize technical skill development, intentional training in mentorship and leadership remains underrepresented in many curricula. Preliminary conversations with graduate teaching assistants in the Civil and Environmental Engineering department revealed gaps in their preparation for mentoring undergraduates, highlighting the broader need for structured mentorship training that extends beyond technical advising relationships.
This work-in-progress paper documents our process of using systematic data collection to inform the development of a formal Engineering Mentorship Program. The initiative aims to prepare undergraduate students to serve as peer mentors for fellow undergraduates through a structured curriculum grounded in mentorship theory and adult learning principles. Proposed core components include a one-unit mentorship and leadership course integrating research-backed competencies, faculty-led workshops, and guided mentoring experiences.
Our pedagogical approach emphasizes experiential learning through hands-on practice and reflective feedback, with student mentors engaging in mentorship theory while developing competencies such as communication skills, trust-building, goal-setting, and inclusive engagement practices. The initiative is designed to align with ABET Student Outcome #4 (ethical and professional responsibility) and institutional strategic priorities in experiential education and leadership development.
During our planning phase, we are conducting a needs assessment survey of faculty and undergraduate students within the CEE department to systematically evaluate current mentorship practices, gauge student interest in peer mentoring, identify what faculty currently provide in mentoring relationships, and determine where structured mentorship training would be most beneficial. This data will directly inform decisions regarding course structure, content emphasis, credit options, and implementation strategies.
Assessment methods under development include reflective assignments and feedback tools designed to measure mentoring effectiveness and student learning outcomes. We anticipate evaluation metrics will include mentor confidence levels, mentee satisfaction and learning gains, and leadership skill development measured through pre- and post-program surveys and reflective journals.
This paper will share our needs assessment design and methodology, the theoretical framework informing program structure, and our planned approach for using survey data to guide pilot implementation.