Student perceptions in online higher education toward faculty mentoring

Abstract

Student persistence is important for students, faculty, and universities and online faculty mentoring supports student persistence to graduation. The online learning environment is increasingly a choice for more undergraduate students, and it continues to grow in popularity as an attractive option for adults. It is crucial to find ways to increase persistence and graduation especially given the increased use of virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Attrition rates in online learning can be high for a variety of reasons, including persistence and engagement. Faculty mentors in the online environment can strengthen connections and relationships with undergraduate students, and it is important to ask for and evaluate these student perceptions. This mixed methods study surveyed and interviewed undergraduate students in an online university to understand both their experiences with faculty mentoring in the online environment and the potential of a faculty mentor program in a large online university. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions and experiences of four undergraduate student mentees with their faculty mentor at a large online university using mixed methods research design. In addition, survey data from one department are analyzed to guide future mentoring programs in online learning environments. Findings from the study indicate belief that mentoring and encouragement from faculty would enhance students’ scholarly experience. Students indicated they would like to participate in a faculty mentoring program, and it was clear that students welcome and appreciate the opportunity to further cement a professional relationship between themselves and faculty. This article makes a unique contribution to higher education research, providing a potential model for others seeking guidance in mentoring in online higher education. The data analysis and research indicate that a larger scale mentoring program might be more valuable for students.

Implementation of a faculty student mentor program and lessons learned

“…Mentorship can take place in any stage of life from guidance in relationships, to professional, financial, academic, and leadership advice (McWilliams & Beam, 2013). The dynamic between a mentor and a mentee is essential in shaping each upcoming generation of professionals and has been shown to benefit both the mentee, and the mentor (AuCoin & Wright, 2021;Balu & James, 2017;Evans, 2018;Lock et al, 2006;McWilliams & Beam, 2013). Some benefits of mentorship for faculty include that it provides an opportunity to improve communication skills, provides them the opportunity to practice and improve upon their teaching skills, and reflect strategies for improvement (Geesa et al, 2020).…”

“…Some benefits of mentorship for faculty include that it provides an opportunity to improve communication skills, provides them the opportunity to practice and improve upon their teaching skills, and reflect strategies for improvement (Geesa et al, 2020). A good faculty student mentorship program will positively affect the performance of students and faculty, which will reflect positively on the corresponding university or institution (AuCoin & Wright, 2021;McWilliams & Beam, 2013). For years, students' professional development has been a priority in higher education and a great deal of research has been conducted to find ways to improve various characteristics of student performance, progression, and success (Hammer, 2000;Lock et al, 2006;McWilliams & Beam, 2013).…”

Bridge Building in Higher Education: Multi-Modal Mentoring Programs to Support Retention & Career Preparedness

“…The resulting lack of intrinsic motivation and feelings of disconnect from the professor and their degree can lead students to be dissatisfied with their college experience in general and result in poor completion rates in the online environment. Online learning in general has its own set of chal-lenges due to the asynchronous nature (AuCoin & Wright, 2021), which is certainly true for e-mentoring (Mullen, 2021). Argente-Linares et al (2017) define e-mentoring "as the process in which electronic media are used as the main channel of communication between the mentor and mentee" (p. 401).…”

“…However, faculty can also assist students by guiding them into the academic community and introducing them to their own professional networks (Green, Ammah, Butler-Byrd, Brandon, & McIntosh, 2017;Almond et al, 2021). Studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of mentoring programs, either faculty-to-student or student-to-student (Nora & Crisp, 2007;Brunsma, Embrick, & Shin, 2017;Black, 2017;Baranik et al, 2017;Kutsyuruba & Godden, 2019;Almond et al, 2021;AuCoin & Wright, 2021); however, there is little agreement on a definition for mentoring, let alone straightforward best practices for institutions to adopt for e-mentoring adult learners. What is agreed upon is that mentoring is a dynamic process that involves input from both the mentor and mentee and evolves over time.…”