Assessing the Effectiveness of the GradTrack Virtual Mentoring Program

Lexy C. Arinze; Janet M. Beagle; Jacqueline E. McDermott

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Conference: 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Baltimore , Maryland
Publication Date: June 25, 2023
Start Date: June 25, 2023
End Date: June 28, 2023
Conference Session: Virtual Mentoring Program, Listening to Those That Matter, Moving Beyond Research, and Career Outcomes Tracking
Tagged Division: Minorities in Engineering Division(MIND)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 18
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--42681
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/42681
Download Count: 342

Paper Authors

biography

Lexy C. Arinze Purdue University

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Lexy Arinze is a graduate student in the Lyles School of Civil Engineering at Purdue University, where he is pursuing his master’s degree. He currently serves as a Graduate Research Assistant for the Dean’s Office of Graduate Education in the College of Engineering. He will be starting his Ph.D. in Engineering Education in the fall of 2023. Lexy is passionate about Engineering Education, impacting others using his Engineering knowledge, mentoring, and helping students grow. Before Purdue, he received an Erasmus scholarship for an exchange program at the University of Jaen, Spain. He had his undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

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Janet M. Beagle

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Dr. Janet Beagle is the Director of Graduate Programs for Purdue Universityâ€™s College of Engineering. Formerly the Director of Graduate Admissions over five campuses and more than 100 graduate programs, she has worked with graduate recruitment and admis

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Jacqueline E. McDermott orcid.org/0000-0003-3435-4416

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Abstract

Increasing the percentage of underrepresented minority (URM) students in engineering graduate programs is vital to developing engineering diversity. In the United States, the enrollment of domestic Black or African American and Hispanic students in doctoral programs is low (4.3% and 8.4%, respectively) compared to other races [1]. These percentages are even far less than their representation within the US population, 13.6%, and 18.6%, respectively [2]. Further, it has been shown that mentoring programs focused on URM undergraduate students positively impact their academic performance and retention [3]. However, an outstanding question is whether mentoring can help prepare URM undergraduate students for graduate school and whether mentoring of prospective graduate students (undergrad mentees) by current graduate students can help increase feelings of belonging for the graduate student mentors. This research study aims to address these questions through the lens of the community-driven mentoring circle structure of the GradTrack Scholars program [4].

GradTrack is a virtual mentorship program that strives to build an inclusive and supportive community geared toward increasing the success of undergraduate and graduate URM engineering students who are excited about Graduate Education [4]. The program has a unique online mentoring circle structure, pairing 2 graduate student mentors with 4-6 URM undergraduate student mentees from across the US. The program was established and ran a pilot in 2021. It completed its second year in Fall 2022, recording an increase in interest and growth of both graduate mentors and undergraduate mentees. Building upon the success of the pilot year of the program, this study formally examines the effectiveness of the GradTrack program in its second year.

Specifically, this study aims to address two questions: A) Does the GradTrack Scholars Program prepare participating undergraduate students for graduate school? and B) Does GradTrack assist in the professional development and sense of belonging for graduate student mentors? To evaluate these questions, this research paper uses pre- and post-event surveys and a focus group of mentors from the 2022 GradTrack cohort. This paper will also discuss modifications made between the first two years of the program. The results of this assessment and ideas for implementation across other institutions will be presented.

Citation
Format

Arinze, L. C., & Beagle, J. M., & McDermott, J. E. (2023, June), Assessing the Effectiveness of the GradTrack Virtual Mentoring Program Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--42681

TY - CPAPER
AB - Increasing the percentage of underrepresented minority (URM) students in engineering graduate programs is vital to developing engineering diversity. In the United States, the enrollment of domestic Black or African American and Hispanic students in doctoral programs is low (4.3% and 8.4%, respectively) compared to other races [1]. These percentages are even far less than their representation within the US population, 13.6%, and 18.6%, respectively [2]. Further, it has been shown that mentoring programs focused on URM undergraduate students positively impact their academic performance and retention [3]. However, an outstanding question is whether mentoring can help prepare URM undergraduate students for graduate school and whether mentoring of prospective graduate students (undergrad mentees) by current graduate students can help increase feelings of belonging for the graduate student mentors. This research study aims to address these questions through the lens of the community-driven mentoring circle structure of the GradTrack Scholars program [4].

GradTrack is a virtual mentorship program that strives to build an inclusive and supportive community geared toward increasing the success of undergraduate and graduate URM engineering students who are excited about Graduate Education [4]. The program has a unique online mentoring circle structure, pairing 2 graduate student mentors with 4-6 URM undergraduate student mentees from across the US. The program was established and ran a pilot in 2021. It completed its second year in Fall 2022, recording an increase in interest and growth of both graduate mentors and undergraduate mentees. Building upon the success of the pilot year of the program, this study formally examines the effectiveness of the GradTrack program in its second year.

Specifically, this study aims to address two questions: A) Does the GradTrack Scholars Program prepare participating undergraduate students for graduate school? and B) Does GradTrack assist in the professional development and sense of belonging for graduate student mentors? To evaluate these questions, this research paper uses pre- and post-event surveys and a focus group of mentors from the 2022 GradTrack cohort. This paper will also discuss modifications made between the first two years of the program. The results of this assessment and ideas for implementation across other institutions will be presented.

AU - Lexy C. Arinze
AU - Janet M. Beagle
AU - Jacqueline E. McDermott
CY - Baltimore , Maryland
DA - 2023/06/25
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Assessing the Effectiveness of the GradTrack Virtual Mentoring Program
UR - https://peer.asee.org/42681
DO - 10.18260/1-2--42681
ER -