GradTrack Scholars: A comprehensive online mentoring program to build community and prepare the next generation of underrepresented minority graduate students  (Work in Progress)

Jacqueline McDermott; Janet Beagle

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Conference: 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Publication Date: August 23, 2022
Start Date: June 26, 2022
End Date: June 29, 2022
Conference Session: Minorities in Engineering Division Technical Session 4
Page Count: 12
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--40778
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/40778
Download Count: 295

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Paper Authors

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Jacqueline McDermott Purdue University at West Lafayette (COE)

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Dr. Jackie McDermott joined the College of Engineering at Purdue University as the Assistant Director of Graduate Recruitment and Retention in August 2018. Jackie completed her B.S. in Biology from Hofstra University (NY) with minors in Spanish and Biochemistry, and her Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Brandeis University (MA). At Purdue, Jackie is enthusiastic about supporting both prospective and current graduate students in their education and she has a specific focus on increasing the diversity of future engineering faculty and community.

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Janet Beagle

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Janet Beagle, Ph.D is the Sr. Director of Graduate Programs for Purdue University’s College of Engineering where she leads all aspects of graduate education from recruitment through graduate student success. She also guides new degree development, policy and process improvement, and special initiatives for the College’s 14 academic units and more than 4600 graduate students. Formerly Purdue’s Director of Graduate Admissions overseeing five campuses and more than 100 graduate programs, she has worked with graduate education for more than 15 years.

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Abstract

Enrollment of Black or African American and Hispanic doctoral students is low compared to other races/ethnicities in doctoral programs in the U.S, 4.3% and 8.4% respectively [1]. Previous programs that focused on increasing representation of underrepresented minority (URM) students in graduate school show that early outreach to students and faculty mentors at minority serving institutions (MSIs) is important for introducing and preparing URM engineers for graduate study [2]. This previous work also highlighted the importance of on-going community-building, versus a one-time visitation style event, to sustain interest and preparation for graduate study. In response, the newly developed GradTrack program, which is currently being piloted at a large public research university in the Midwest, aims to build an inclusive and supportive community of both undergraduate and graduate URM engineers who are excited about Graduate Education.

GradTrack is a year-long program that provides a unique approach to traditional mentoring by connecting 4-6 URM undergraduate students from across the U.S. with 2 graduate student mentors in online mentoring circles. These small group connections are then embedded within a larger and scalable network that includes monthly meetings, presentations, assignments, an interactive chat board, and more. All activities and discussions are developed to demystify graduate school and build an inclusive and supportive community. While mentoring and recruitment programs often exist independently, GradTrack combines beneficial elements of these programs: cohort building, program longevity (1-year), interactive discussions, one-on-one feedback, and structured assignments for student success. There has been overwhelming interest by students and colleagues across the country about the 2021-2022 GradTrack pilot year.

This Work in Progress paper will detail the GradTrack program structure in the context of relevant literature, including the intentionality behind the online format, the curricular balance between structured assignments and open discussion, and the strategy behind the interactive elements employed. Budgetary considerations and key stakeholders will be discussed. This paper will also provide preliminary results of the pilot year including participation numbers and expected program impact, ongoing assessment strategies, and lessons learned.

Citation
Format

McDermott, J., & Beagle, J. (2022, August), GradTrack Scholars: A comprehensive online mentoring program to build community and prepare the next generation of underrepresented minority graduate students (Work in Progress) Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--40778

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Enrollment of Black or African American and Hispanic doctoral students is low compared to other races/ethnicities in doctoral programs in the U.S, 4.3% and 8.4% respectively [1]. Previous programs that focused on increasing representation of underrepresented minority (URM) students in graduate school show that early outreach to students and faculty mentors at minority serving institutions (MSIs) is important for introducing and preparing URM engineers for graduate study [2]. This previous work also highlighted the importance of on-going community-building, versus a one-time visitation style event, to sustain interest and preparation for graduate study. In response, the newly developed GradTrack program, which is currently being piloted at a large public research university in the Midwest, aims to build an inclusive and supportive community of both undergraduate and graduate URM engineers who are excited about Graduate Education. 

GradTrack is a year-long program that provides a unique approach to traditional mentoring by connecting 4-6 URM undergraduate students from across the U.S. with 2 graduate student mentors in online mentoring circles. These small group connections are then embedded within a larger and scalable network that includes monthly meetings, presentations, assignments, an interactive chat board, and more. All activities and discussions are developed to demystify graduate school and build an inclusive and supportive community. While mentoring and recruitment programs often exist independently, GradTrack combines beneficial elements of these programs: cohort building, program longevity (1-year), interactive discussions, one-on-one feedback, and structured assignments for student success. There has been overwhelming interest by students and colleagues across the country about the 2021-2022 GradTrack pilot year. 

This Work in Progress paper will detail the GradTrack program structure in the context of relevant literature, including the intentionality behind the online format, the curricular balance between structured assignments and open discussion, and the strategy behind the interactive elements employed. Budgetary considerations and key stakeholders will be discussed. This paper will also provide preliminary results of the pilot year including participation numbers and expected program impact, ongoing assessment strategies, and lessons learned.
AU  - Jacqueline McDermott
AU  - Janet Beagle
CY  - Minneapolis, MN
DA  - 2022/08/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - GradTrack Scholars: A comprehensive online mentoring program to build community and prepare the next generation of underrepresented minority graduate students  (Work in Progress)
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/40778
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--40778
ER  -