Session T1H

Does Peer Mentoring Increase Retention Of The Mentor?

Amy E. Monte 1, Kerri A. Sleeman 2, and Gretchen L. Hein 3
Abstract - The Michigan Techs GUIDE (Graduate and Undergraduate Initiative for Development and Enhancement) and ExSEL (Excelling in Science and Engineering Learning) programs have been using peer mentoring to help retain female and underrepresented minority engineering students for over five years. Mentoring has been a successful retention strategy. Most mentoring programs measure success by looking at the retention of the mentee. This paper will address the question, Does a peer mentoring program also increase retention of the mentor? To demonstrate how being a peer mentor helps retain the students who are mentoring, retention data will be analyzed and anecdotal evidence will be presented. Survey results regarding how the mentoring experience has helped the mentor academically, socially and professionally will be provided. Additionally, peer mentor performance data regarding job placement, campus activities, and academic success will be examined and compared to the Michigan Tech College of Engineering (COE) average. Index Terms Student retention, Women, Minority, Peer mentoring. INTRODUCTION In the late 1990s, Michigan Tech followed national trends and experienced declines in first year retention. According to ACT, Inc., the average national first year retention rate at four year public institutions fell 2% from the early 1990s to the second half of the decade (75% to 73%) [1]. Michigan Tech averaged 87% in the first half of the 1990s; the second half of the decade saw the average retention drop to 80%. The Michigan Tech College of Engineering (COE) did not escape this trend. COE first year retention rates dropped from an average of 90% to 84% over the same time period. Michigan Tech also experienced small declines in second year retention rates during this time. Additionally, enrollments of females and minorities at Michigan Tech and within the COE remained constant, despite higher numbers of females and minorities attending college nationally. Nationally, there is a gap between the retention rates of minority and women students in engineering and non-minority male students. For example, in the 1990s, the national graduation rate for minority engineering students was
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approximately 37%, while the non-minority graduation rate was 68.3% [2]. In the fall of 2006, Michigan Techs COE had approximately 3,200 undergraduate students; underrepresented minority students (African American, Native American, and Hispanic/Latino) and women represented 4% and 16% of this population, respectively. The first year retention rates for minorities and women engineering students are the same as the COE average, 83%. The retention rates for women and minority engineering students from sophomore through senior year at Michigan Tech are lower than those for non-minority males, mirroring national trends [3]. In response, Michigan Tech initiated numerous partnerships, outreach efforts, and programs, in an effort to attract and retain more students, especially those traditionally underrepresented in engineering. Five years after the inception of these programs, it is clear that many of these initiatives have served their purpose, increasing student success, retention, and underrepresented student enrollment. MICHIGAN TECH SUPPORT SYSTEMS As noted by Vincent Tinto [4] in 1993, institutions were beginning to appreciate the necessity of retaining as many students as possible. The onslaught of research on successful retention practices during this time enabled best practice techniques to emerge. In 2004, ACT, Inc. published a study explaining that retention practices responsible for the greatest contribution to retention in four-year public colleges fell into three main categories: academic advising, first-year programs, and learning support, confirming much of what Tinto reported a decade earlier [1, 4]. Raymond Landis showed that implementation of a successful minority retention program should include collaborative learning communities, cohort scheduling for first-year students, and a first-year seminar focusing on study skills, time management, student organization involvement, and faculty and peer interaction [5]. Also, looking at minority retention in 2005, Gaither noted that educational programs and institutions need to teach students to cope with racism, provide mentoring programs, promote community involvement, and improve the environment for minority students [6]. The National Resource Center For The First Year Experience & Students In Transition includes learning communities, mentoring programs, thematically linked courses, validating in- and out-of-class environments, and connections among

Amy E. Monte, Department of Engineering Fundamentals, Michigan Technological University, aemonte@mtu.edu Kerri A. Sleeman, Educational Opportunity, Michigan Technological University, kasleema@mtu.edu 3 Gretchen L. Hein, Department of Engineering Fundamentals, Michigan Technological University, glhein@mtu.edu

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faculty, students, and peers as key programs to foster student retention [7]. Michigan Tech has an extensive history of student outreach and success initiatives including: learning centers, cohort scheduling of first year engineering students, and improved communication training for academic advisors and instructors. This paper will focus on two initiatives: GUIDE (Graduate and Undergraduate Initiative for Development and Enhancement) and ExSEL (Excelling in Science and Engineering Learning). Since there is no control group of students with similar demographics, the COE average will be used as a comparison group. When applicable, sophomore students will be compared to the mentors in the above programs. GUIDE PROGRAM DESCRIPTION In 2002, Michigan Tech received a National Science Foundation Grant for the GUIDE program. This scholarship program was implemented to support first and second year engineering students through mentoring and guidance. Over the past five years, GUIDE has awarded scholarships to 59 different undergraduate students. The program focuses on funding students who not only are underrepresented in engineering but also do not typically qualify for academic scholarships due to high school performance and/or high school coursework [8]. Students are actively recruited for the program through high school recruiter visits, Michigan Tech website advertisements, and direct mailings to targeted students. Students are referred to the program from the Michigan Tech Financial Aid Office, ExSEL Program staff and engineering faculty [9]. Each year three groups of students participate in GUIDE: first year students (undergraduate student mentee), second year students (undergraduate student mentor), and graduate students (graduate student mentor). The first year, second year and graduate students are grouped into mentor teams, where each first year student has a second year and graduate mentor. The graduate mentor acts as team leader and mentor to both the first year mentee and second year mentor. The undergraduate student mentees that successfully complete their first year become undergraduate mentors for new first year students. Because the graduate mentors typically have earned their bachelor degree from another university, the undergraduate mentors bring campus knowledge to the team. All mentors are required to attend a training session at the beginning of each year. This provides them with the skills needed to help the first year mentees during the transition to university life. Throughout the school year, the undergraduates participating in the program meet twice a week with their graduate mentors. The mentors informally monitor student academic progress, and assist the students in the successful completion of their courses. As part of the GUIDE program, all scholars attend weekly GUIDE Seminars throughout each semester. Topics include: engineering career options, campus resources, study skills, career development (i.e. resume writing, mock interviews, how to get a co-op/internship, study abroad, undergraduate research), and team building activities. To help improve these seminars, students participate in semester reviews as well as anonymous surveys [10]. Students also attend the fall and spring on-campus career fairs where they meet with prospective employers and submit their resumes. In addition, the students are required to meet with their academic advisor to create a graduation plan, maintain a minimum GPA of 2.5, and participate in a professional organization. The GUIDE program has helped retain underprepared students and helped them undertake a career in engineering. The benefits of this program are manifested by increased student retention, higher GPAs, and greater participation in research, study abroad, co-ops, internship and campus activities [9]. As part of the GUIDE program, the graduate mentors have presented papers regarding the mentoring aspects of the program at national conferences [11, 12]. In 2003, Touton conducted a survey and found that: The undergraduates felt: Interacting with their mentor was beneficial. Having a mentor made it easier to come to college and helped them focus on the future rather than just fitting in [11]. The undergraduate mentors felt: Being mentors sharpened their listening skills. One student commented I am more focused on the first year student as opposed to having all the attention on me [11]. In 2005, Marszalek completed another GUIDE survey [12]. This survey found that the overall satisfaction with the GUIDE program was high, scoring 3.8 out of 5.0 and the satisfaction with mentors was even higher, scoring 4.1 out of 5.0. In addition, 67% of the GUIDE scholars felt that the biggest benefit of the program was the help it provided in adjusting to life at college [12]. GUIDE MENTOR RETENTION AND ACADEMIC SUCCESS

Over the five-year period of the program, GUIDE has maintained an overall participant retention rate of 86%. Twelve students have left the GUIDE program for various reasons. Five have left GUIDE but remained at Michigan Tech in math/science/engineering fields or in other degree programs. Since they are still at the university, these students are considered retained. GUIDE students have left Michigan Tech for several reasons: experienced homesickness, wanted to live in larger city, joined the national guard, and did not want to study engineering, to name a few. Of the eight GUIDE students that have left Michigan Tech, only one was an undergraduate mentor resulting in a mentor retention rate of 97%. The GUIDE undergraduate mentors, typically sophomore students, have been active academically as well as in the area of career development. The GPAs for these students have consistently exceeded the COE average (Table I). 1-4244-1084-3/07/$25.00 2007 IEEE October 10 13, 2007, Milwaukee, WI 37th ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference T1H-15

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TABLE I GUIDE MENTOR AND COE UNDERGRADUATE DATA [9] Average Cumulative GPA after Spring Semester Year GUIDE Sophomore COE 2002-3 3.36 3.00 2003-4 3.30 3.08 2004-5 3.32 3.05 2005-6 3.37 3.03 TABLE III OVERALL GUIDE MENTOR DEMOGRAPHICS FALL 2002-FALL 2006 GUIDE COE Number of Students 35 -Ethnic Minority 26% 4% Female 74% 18% Cumulative GPA 3.11 3.04* Engineering Field 83% -Retention 97% 88%* Graduated 17% -* Data for sophomore engineering students.

Developed in 2000, the ExSEL Program is a partnership between the Michigan Tech Department of Educational Opportunity and the State of Michigans King-Chvez-Parks Initiative. The program serves approximately 150 students each year, focusing on academically or economically disadvantaged students but involving students of a wide range of preparedness. While originally intended solely for this target group, ExSEL actually provides support for a wide variety of students. By stressing the importance of utilizing support regardless of the academic background, ExSEL escapes the stigma often associated with student support initiatives. Students are recruited in a similar fashion to GUIDE, utilizing referrals from across campus as well as TABLE II outside organization partnerships. ExSEL also contacts UNDERGRADUATE MENTOR CAREER DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES incoming first-year students and parents to make them aware Career Development Activity GUIDE COE of the opportunity; parents are often surprised and pleased to Co-op (National Average: 9%) 28%* 12% learn this type of support structure exists at Michigan Tech. Study Abroad 16%* 2% ExSELs strategy combines coursework, progress Enterprise 31% 10% monitoring, peer mentoring, and personalized services to help * Data does not include current GUIDE mentors; they are not eligible to participate in the activity and be a mentor at the assure the success of student participants. same time. Participants are required to enroll in the Frameworks for Success (UN1000) course, which focuses on the tools Over the five years of GUIDE there have been 35 necessary for first-year success. It is a one credit graded undergraduate mentors. Table III includes the demographics course which includes topics such as: time management, of these students. 26% were ethnic minority and 74% were academic skill development, and introduction to campus female compared to the COE percentages of 4% and 18%, resources. ExSEL students build relationships with the ExSEL respectively. The mentors, typically sophomore engineering staff and mentors during this class, which opens the door for students, have a cumulative GPA of 3.11 while comparable future discussions if the student begins to struggle [14]. students in the COE have an average cumulative GPA of 3.04. Progress monitoring is a critical component of the All mentors started in an engineering field and six of those program. A contract, including a grade release, is completed students left engineering while only one student left Michigan before the student enters the program. This release allows for Tech. This results in a retention rate of 97% while the COE review of grades twice early in the semester as well as has a 88% retention rate for sophomore students. Since the allowing ExSEL staff to discuss student progress with program has been active for five years and undergraduate parents/guardians. Therefore, ExSEL has two opportunities to mentors are typically sophomore students, only six (17%) contact students who may be struggling and direct them have graduated. toward assistance before their academic situation becomes irreversible. The ExSEL program offers multiple options for support, including pairing students with an ExSEL program mentor, referring them to campus resources or study sessions and having one-on-one meetings to discuss their current course of action for achieving success. The peer mentoring portion of the program involves both volunteer and paid mentors and tutors. The mentors primary responsibilities are to provide direction, encouragement, and academic support (as necessary). Partnerships with student 1-4244-1084-3/07/$25.00 2007 IEEE October 10 13, 2007, Milwaukee, WI 37th ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference T1H-16

The GUIDE undergraduate mentors have been actively working towards their career goals (Table II). Anecdotal evidence suggests this is a result of the GUIDE peer mentoring and seminars where topics regarding co-ops, study abroad and Michigan Tech Enterprise are introduced and encouraged. The Michigan Tech Enterprise program consists of student teams that operate like companies to solve realworld problems (www.enterprise.mtu.edu). Students typically join an enterprise their sophomore year and participate/work in the enterprise through their senior year. It serves as their senior design project as well as developing team, leadership and management skills. The GUIDE mentors have actively sought and obtained co-ops at more than twice the rate of the Michigan Tech COE average and three times the rate of the national average (9%) [13]. GUIDE mentors participated in the Michigan Tech Study Abroad and Enterprise programs at eight times the rate of the Michigan Tech COE average.

EXSEL PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Session T1H
organizations provide collaborative opportunities for mentors and mentees. All mentors are active in some organization or group on-campus, and referrals for future mentors generally come from current mentors. Mentors are required to attend a mentor training at the beginning of the year. They have meetings throughout the year with the ExSEL coordinators. This helps keep the mentors on track and the coordinators up to date on the mentees. In addition, there are ExSEL social events and professional seminars that the mentors and mentees are invited to attend. ExSELs strategy for improving student performance is through the use of in-place campus resources. This includes utilizing established resources including the Outreach and MultiEthnic Program Coordinators, academic learning centers, student organizations, Counseling Services, and Michigan Techs Office of First-Year Programs. For example, if a student can receive adequate tutoring from a learning center instead of from an ExSEL peer mentor, it frees that peer mentor to tutor students for whom the learning centers are not a good fit. Honored as a Noel-Levitz Retention Excellence Award winner in 2006, ExSEL has experienced considerable evidence of success since program inception (Fall 2000). Most noteworthy is the increased ExSEL student retention rates. ExSEL Engineering student retention increased over 28%, while the COE first-year retention rates has experienced 3.5% increase during the same time [14]. Additionally, ExSEL students have experienced increased semester GPAs, while fewer are on academic probation and more are on the Deans List during their first year [14]. EXSEL MENTOR RETENTION AND ACADEMIC SUCCESS The mentors of the ExSEL students have grade benefits (Table IV). The first and second year students GPAs are greater for the ExSEL mentors than for the COE average during the same time period. However, the 3rd, 4th year and cumulative GPAs are lower for the ExSEL mentors than for the COE average.
TABLE IV EXSEL MENTOR AND COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING UNDERGRADUATE DATA Average Cumulative GPA after Spring Semester 2002-2006 Year in ExSEL COE School 1st 3.26 2.98 2nd 3.14 3.04 3rd 2.98 3.08 4th 2.99 3.16 Cumulative 3.01 3.10

may be due to the higher retention of students who without ExSEL would have left the university (Table V). In total, three ExSEL mentors left Michigan Tech which is equivalent to a 93% retention rate compared to the COE average of 88%. During the five years the program has been supporting mentors, thirteen mentors (31%) have graduated.
TABLE V OVERALL EXSEL MENTOR DEMOGRAPHICS FALL 2002-FALL 2006 ExSEL COE Number of Students 42 -Ethnic Minority 79% 4% Female 50% 18% Cumulative GPA 3.01 3.10* Engineering Field 86% -Retention 93% 88%** Graduated 31% -* Data for all undergraduate engineering students. ** Since most mentors are Sophomores or older, retention data for the Sophomore cohort is used as a comparison.

MENTOR SURVEY RESULTS In the spring of 2007, a student survey was sent to all GUIDE and ExSEL mentors with a 40% and a 36% response rate, respectively. The GUIDE and ExSEL mentors responded positively to career building activities such as co-op, internship, research, study abroad, campus employment, and professional organizations (Table VI). GUIDE and ExSEL mentors participated in co-ops at two and six times the rate of the COE average, respectively. They participated in the Michigan Tech Study Abroad program eight times more than the COE average. Twice as many were employed on-campus as the COE average. In addition, many of the mentors participated in internships, undergraduate research and most of the mentors were active in professional organizations. This data is not collected by the University and therefore can not be compared to students in the COE.
TABLE VI MENTOR SURVEY RESULTS REGARDING CAREER ACTIVITIES GUIDE ExSEL COE Survey Responses 14 15 -Total Students 35 42 -Response Rate 40% 36% -Coop 21% (28%*) 60% 12% Internships 43% 60% NA Undergraduate Research 43% 27% NA Study Abroad 21% (16%*) 13% 2% Employed on Campus 79% 93% 45% Professional Organizations 93% 93% NA * Data from university data including all GUIDE mentors. NA = not available

ExSEL has provided mentors for students since 2002. During this time there have been 42 undergraduate mentors; The survey asked questions regarding the mentors demographics for these students can be found in Table V. 79% responsibilities. Responsibilities of being a mentor can vary of the students were from an ethnic minority group and 50% from student to student depending on the mentees needs. of the students were female, while the COE percentage of Table VII shows how the mentor and mentee spent their time ethnic minority and female students are 4% and 18%, together. GUIDE mentors spent time participating in informal respectively. Most of the mentors were in an engineering field. rd th as well as program structured social activities, while ExSEL As seen in Table IV, the 3 , 4 year and cumulative GPAs are lower for the ExSEL mentors than for the COE average. This 1-4244-1084-3/07/$25.00 2007 IEEE October 10 13, 2007, Milwaukee, WI 37th ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference T1H-17

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mentors used the phone or e-mail to communicate with their mentees and spent time tutoring their mentees.
TABLE VII MENTOR SURVEY RESULTS REGARDING MENTORING ACTIVITY PARTICIPATION RATES Mentoring Activities GUIDE ExSEL Informal social activities 93% 60% Phone or e-mail conversations 57% 80% Studying together 57% 67% Program sponsored social activities 93% 27% Tutoring 50% 87%

he/she is still interested in service just not mentoring engineering students. Most students commented on wanting to help others as the main reason to be a mentor. One students mentored because I remember coming to school here, and my brother was a mentor to me. I know not everyone has that, so I want to help out. Overall, the survey results indicate the positive experiences the mentors had while participating in their mentoring program. CONCLUSION Both GUIDE and ExSEL were developed to improve first year engineering retention rates of the mentee students. This study shows that there is a secondary benefit of these programs; they have also improved retention of the mentors. In addition to improved retention, most of the mentors have higher GPAs as well as obtained job experience though co-ops, internships, undergraduate research and participation in the Michigan Tech Enterprise program. The best practice techniques intended to help the first year students, have also helped the mentors. These include: creating faculty mentoring relationships, providing both academic and non-academic advising, financial assistance, promoting and supporting career development opportunities, development of campus community, and knowledge of campus resources. In GUIDE and ExSEL the mentors have benefited from both the social and the informational aspects of the programs. The programs provided the mentors with opportunities for involvement as well as knowledge of campus resources and career development through personal contact with faculty and staff across campus. ACKNOWLEDGMENT We would like to thank the Michigan Tech College of Engineering, Harold Meese Career Center, Financial Aid Office and Department of Educational Opportunity for supporting these programs and working with the program advisors. We thank the King-Chvez-Parks Initiative and the National Science Foundation for funding these programs that have helped many students at Michigan Tech. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0220500. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. REFERENCES
[1] [2] Habley, W, R, McClanahan, R, What Works in Student Retention? Four- Year Public Colleges, ACT, Inc., 2004. Georges, A, Keeping What Weve Got: Effective Strategies for Retaining Minority Freshmen in Engineering, The National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering Research Letter, Vol 9, No 1., September 1999.

In addition to improved GPA and retention, the results of this study show there are many other benefits to being a mentor. From the survey, approximately 80% of both mentor groups felt the biggest benefit was personal satisfaction from helping others (Table VIII). Most of the ExSEL mentors and half of the GUIDE mentors felt that the mentoring improved their communication skills. Half of GUIDE mentors stated they became more aware of campus resources and obtained support from the program advisors.
TABLE VIII MENTOR SURVEY RESULTS REGARDING PERCENT REPORTING POSITIVE PERSONAL BENEFITS Benefit to Mentor GUIDE ExSEL Communication skills 50% 73% ExSEL or GUIDE organized events 43% 20% Networking 43% 47% Personal satisfaction from helping others 79% 80% Campus resource awareness 50% 27% Self confidence 36% 47% Support from ExSEL or GUIDE program advisors 64% 33% Time management 36% 33%

When asked, If a friend was thinking about being a mentor, what would you tell him/her?, some mentors responded as follows: The ExSEL program is an excellent opportunity to test leadership and communication skills in a positive and reinforcing manner. Being a mentor is a great opportunity to be supportive to incoming students and help them succeed through their first year of school. Be prepared to work with students of all different backgrounds and personalities. It will teach you interpersonal skills. Two words: "Do It" I would encourage anyone to be a mentor. It has been a great experience helping out a freshman student. I have learned so much about myself over the last few years and it has been nice to share some of my own experiences with someone. When asked if they would be a mentor again, only one of the 29 students responding to the survey indicated that he/she would not. This student stated, I felt unconnected once I made my decision to switch out of engineering I can put my skills to work in areas where I may have a better ability to be of service. From this students comment it is evident that

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[3] Anderson, C, Michigan Technological University, 2000-2001 Select Student Support Services Project RISE Proposal. Grant Period: October 1, 2000 through September 30, 2001, Senate Bill No. 967 of 2000. Tinto, V, Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Attrition, Second Edition. The University of Chicago Press, 1993. Landis, R, B, Retention By Design: Achieving Excellence in Minority Engineering Education, The National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, California State University, Office of the Chancellor, 2005. Gaither, G, H, Minority Retention: What Works?: New Directions for Institutional Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc., No 125., April 2005. Rendon, L, I, Garcia, M, Person, D, (Eds.) Transforming the first year experience for students of Color, National Resource Center For The First-Year Experience & Students In Transition, Monograph No 38., Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina, 2004. Monte, A, E, Hein, G, L, An Innovative Program to Support Undergraduate Engineering Students from Underrepresented Groups, Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition, June 2004. Hein, G, L, Monte, A, E, Sleeman, K, A, "Four Years of Helping Underrepresented Students Succeed in Engineering", Proceedings of the 2007 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition, In Press, June 2007. [10] Monte, A, E, Hein, G, L, GUIDE: Helping Underrepresented Students Succeed in Engineering, Proceedings of the 2005 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition, June 2005. [11] Touton, S, H, McDonald, C, P, Hein G, L, Monte, A, E, Engineers Need Mentors Too!, Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition, June 2004. [12] Marszalek, M, A, Snauffer, A, M, Good, S, P, Hein, G, L, Monte, A, E, Mentors Improve the College Experience of Engineering Undergraduates, Proceedings of the 2005 35th ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference, Session F2G (http://fie.engrng.pitt.edu/fie2005). [13] Beausoleil, G, University Career Center Cooperative Education Program 2002-2003 Annual Report, Michigan Technological University, Michigan, 2003. [14] Sleeman, K, A, Hein, G, L, Monte, A, E, "Programs and Partnerships that Impact Retention", Proceedings of the 2007 Women in Engineering Programs and Advocates Network Annual Conference, In Press (#0018), 2007.

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