Decoupling Mentoring and Advising in Undergraduate Engineering Education: A Multivocal Approach to Repair

• In Event: Mentoring in the Learning Process

Abstract

Adapting to college life can be daunting yet critical to students' journey to degree completion. This is particularly true for first-generation and underrepresented minority students in STEM. Mentorship programs can effectively facilitate a successful transition and ultimate attainment of a post-secondary degree. This article portrays the participatory process to design and implement a multivocal mentoring and advising program involving the experiences of undergraduate engineering students, advising staff, and faculty mentors at an R1 institution. Using a qualitative design-based research approach, we interviewed potential program users, conducted participatory workshops, and engaged faculty and students in design pilots. The results from our study yielded an institutionalized program that decouples mentoring and advising.

Authors

• Constanza Miranda, Johns Hopkins University

• Rachel Saperstein McClam, Johns Hopkins University

• Paulina Perez Mejias, Johns Hopkins University