Mentoring faculty online: a literature review and recommendations for web-based programs

Teaching-focused faculty mentorship programs can expose instructors to new ideas, as well as opportunities for critical self-reflection, professional growth, and network building. In this literature review, we synthesize the research on teaching-focused faculty mentorship programs that have been facilitated at institutions of higher education through online or blended modalities. We identify key trends in the reported outcomes of these programs, as well as aspects of program design and implementation that might enable or impede program success. Finally, we provide eight recommendations to help guide the implementation of online and blended faculty mentorship programs

Who's persisting in engineering? : a comparative analysis of female and male Asian, Black, Hispanic, Native American, and White students

Interest in increasing the number of engineering graduates in the United States and promoting gender equality and diversification of the profession has encouraged considerable research on women and minorities in engineering programs. Drawing on a framework of intersectionality theory, this study recognizes that women of different ethnic backgrounds warrant disaggregated analysis because they do not necessarily share a common experience in engineering education. Using a longitudinal, comprehensive dataset of more than 79,000 students who matriculated in engineering at nine universities, this research examines the question: How does the persistence of engineering students (measured as enrollment to the eighth semester) vary by disaggregated combinations of gender and race/ethnicity? Findings reveal that for Asian, Black, Hispanic, Native American, and White students, women who matriculate in engineering are most likely to persist in engineering compared to other eighth-semester destinations and, except for Native Americans, do so at rates comparable to those of men. Thus, contrary to considerable popular opinion that there is a gender gap in persistence, the low representation of women in the later years of engineering programs is primarily a reflection of their low representation at matriculation

Race, gender, and measures of success in engineering education

Backround: Concern for workforce needs, social justice, and the diversification of the engineering profession make it critical to understand how different metrics may overestimate or underestimate the success of various race-gender populations in engineering. Purpose (Hypothesis): While earlier work found that women in nearly all racial groups persist to the eighth semester at rates comparable to men, results vary in studies that use other measures of success, providing an incentive to compare multiple measures of success in the same population. Design/Method: The eight-semester persistence and six-year graduation rates are compared for various race-gender populations using a longitudinal, comprehensive dataset of more than 75,000 students matriculating in engineering at nine universities from 1988–1998. Results: Gender differences in persistence of Asian, Black, Hispanic, Native American, and White students are far outweighed by institutional differences. Racial differences are more pronounced, however, revealing some patterns that transcend institutional differences. Conclusions: Our work demonstrates that trajectories of persistence are non-linear, gendered, and racialized, and further that higher education has developed the way in which persistence is studied based on the behavior of the majority, specifically the White, male population. Even if institutions were to treat all students equally, the outcomes will not necessarily be the same because various populations respond differently to the same conditions. Using eight-semester persistence may result in a “systematic majority measurement bias.” Therefore, multiple measures may be needed to describe outcomes in diverse populations

Work in progress: the effect of engineering matriculation status on major selection

This study focuses on how the approach to engineering matriculation affects choice of major. Using the eight institutions represented in the Multiple-Institution Database for Investigating Engineering Longitudinal Development, we compared the majors at matriculation and at the third semester of 1) students who are directly admitted to a discipline 2) students who enter mandatory first-year engineering programs and 3) those who enter colleges of engineering without specifying a major preference. Preliminary findings indicate that students in formal FYE programs are more likely than the direct admits to choose Mechanical, Civil, Computer, and Industrial engineering and less likely to choose Chemical, Electrical, or Materials engineering as their first major. Students who enter as engineering undesignated are more likely to choose Civil, Industrial, and Other engineering and less likely to choose Mechanical, Electrical, Computer, and Materials engineering as their first major than direct admits