Faculty and staff perceptions of undergraduate mentoring

ABSTRACT

The connection between students and faculty is a recognized component of student belonging and engagement. To better understand how these relationships are formed, we utilized a qualitative design to explore the ways in which faculty and staff at a mid-sized public university perceived their roles in supporting, and connecting with, students. Based on our focus group data, we identified three themes. The first theme defined the mentoring relationship in the university context. The second theme addressed the unique features of mentoring Underrepresented Minority (URM) and First Generation (FG) students. Our third theme focused on perceived barriers to mentoring, including personal, institutional, and student-related barriers. Our findings provide a first step in developing a framework for colleges and universities working to promote a culture of mentoring as a means to support students.

KEYWORDS:

• Mentoring
• underrepresented minority students
• first generation students
• relationships
• student success
• and barriers to mentoring

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kristi L. Law

Dr. Kristi L. Law is an associate professor in the School of Social Work at Saint Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa where she is the Program Director of the Bachelor of Social Work Program at Saint Ambrose University. She earned her MSSW from the University of Louisville’s Kent School of Social Work and her PhD in Social Work from the University of Iowa.

Deanna D’Amico Guthrie

Dr. Deanna D’Amico Guthrie is an associate professor of social work at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. She received her MSW and PhD in Social Work from Loyola University Chicago. Prior to joining the UW-Whitewater faculty, she worked as a clinical social worker.

Barbara R. Beaver

Dr. Barbara R. Beaver is a professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. She earned her doctorate from Northern Illinois University in clinical psychology and is a licensed psychologist in the state of Wisconsin.

Susan M. Johnson

Dr. Susan M. Johnson is as assistant dean in the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater’s College of Letters and Sciences. She is also an associate professor of political science. She earned her doctorate from Northern Illinois University.

Jodie Parys

Dr. Jodie Parys is a Professor of Spanish in the Department of Languages and Literatures at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where she teaches courses in Spanish language, translation/interpretation, professional Spanish, and Latin American literature and civilization. Dr. Parys also serves as the Coordinator of Community Based Learning at UW-Whitewater.

Ozalle M. Toms

Dr. Ozalle M. Toms is an associate professor of special education at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. She earned her doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Dr. Toms is the director of diversity and inclusion initiatives for her college and an advocate for inclusion, diversity and equity and is currently serving as the interim Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Diversity, Engagement and Success.