HomeMentoring Matters: Supporting Students’ Development of Mentoring Constellations in Higher Education Research Overview Share: Section NavigationSkip section navigationIn this sectionMentoring Matters Home Page Defining Mentoring Relationships Relationship-Rich Mentoring Map Mentoring in a Constellation Research Overview About the Authors Mentoring Matters: Supporting Students’ Development of Mentoring Constellations in Higher Education incorporates research from a comprehensive study of mentoring constellations at Elon University and from national surveys. Mentoring Constellations Study The study of mentoring constellations at Elon University draws on: Interviews with students, staff, and faculty; Surveys of first-year and fourth-year students; and A survey of alumni. The study was reviewed and approved by Elon’s institutional review board. Interviews Using a snowball sampling technique, we emailed invitations to students, faculty, and staff to participate in one 30- to 45-minute interview on Zoom. Working with campus partners, we invited additional students with minoritized identities, those in cohorted programs (e.g., an Honors program, Business Fellows, etc.), those not in a cohort-based program, and from diverse majors, among other groups. Recruitment of faculty and staff followed a similar pattern. 64 undergraduates and 49 faculty and staff members participated in semi-structured interviews. In the student sample, a diversity of majors and all years in school were represented, although a majority were in their third year. Most participants were in a Fellows or Scholars program (68%) and continuing generation students (89%). Selected demographic characteristics of the student sample are compared to the entire institution in Table 1. Table 1. Demographic characteristics for undergraduate students in the study and institution-wide Undergraduate Students Study Participants Institution Affiliated with Greek Life 31% 42% Female-identified 79% 59.8% White 66% 80% Two or More Races 12% 2.8% African American/Black 10% 5.7% Hispanic/LatinX 7% 6.3% Asian 5% 2.3% The faculty (51%) and staff (49%) sample represented 35 different departments and units. The time they worked at the institution ranged from 1 to 5 years (31%), 6 to 10 years (40%) and over 10 years (29%). Demographic characteristics of the faculty and staff sample are compared to the institution in Table 2. Table 2. Demographic characteristics for faculty and staff in the study and institution-wide Faculty and Staff Study Participants Full-time Faculty at the Institution (2021) Full-time Staff at the Institution (2021) Female-identified 63% 51.3% 56.4% White 78% 74.1% 72.8% African American/Black 18% 7.9% 17.8% Hispanic/LatinX 2% 3.1% 3.2% Asian 2% 6.4% < 1% The semi-structured interviews included questions like: What does it mean to be (or to have) a mentor? In our review of the research, we have learned that mentoring relationships can promote academic, social, personal, cultural, and career-focused development. Did you have one or more meaningful mentors in college? Tell me about them. What are the essential characteristics of mentoring relationships? Were there any people who fulfilled these roles who you do not identify as a mentor? Please explain. Having multiple mentors is sometimes referred to as having a network or a constellation of mentors. Do you see yourself as having a constellation of mentors now? If you were creating your own constellation of mentors, who might you want to be on it? Do your mentors know each other or ever work together? What do you find to be the benefit(s) of having multiple mentors? Are there any challenges in having multiple mentors? When and how did each of these relationships form? Was there a formal program or was this an informal relationship? Talk about how the relationship(s) developed or are developing over time. What supports do your mentors provide? Please contact us if you’d like to see the full interview protocol to adapt for use at your institution. Surveys In 2021, we partnered with Elon University’s Office of Institutional Research and Assessment to survey first-year students (Class of 2024) and seniors (Class of 2021). One-hundred-eighty-two (182) students in the Class of 2024 and 76 students in the Class of 2021 completed the 18-item survey about their experiences with mentoring on campus. We also collaborated with Elon University’s Office of Alumni Engagement to survey alumni. Alumni participants’ graduation dates ranged from 1977 to 2021, with a majority of participants drawn from the classes of 2016-2020. The Office of Alumni Engagement sent targeted invites to Elon’s alumni affinity networks, in addition to inviting participation from a broader pool of 5,000 alumni. Two-hundred alumni completed the survey. Of those who shared how they describe their racial and ethnic identity, 53% identified as White, 30% identified as Black or African American, 2% identified as Asian, and 1% identified as American Indian or Alaska Native. Five percent (5%) selected multiple racial identities. Six percent (6%) identified as Hispanic or Latino. Data Analysis The interviews and open-ended survey responses were coded in the Dedoose software package with overarching “parent codes” (e.g., characteristics of a mentor) and more specific “child codes” (e.g., empathetic, experienced, knowledgeable) applied to the participants’ responses. We followed conventions of qualitative coding (e.g., “Sort and Sift, Think and Shift,” as described by Maietta et al., 2021). In an iterative process, we alternated “diving in” to the data, identifying key quotes and themes, and then “stepping back” to assess what we were learning, with the aim of developing evidence-based and thematic narratives as a means of sharing the findings (Maietta et al., 2021). National Surveys The Center for Engaged Learning has conducted – or collaborated with the Elon Poll – on several national surveys of recent college graduates. In 2019, 1,575 college graduates, age 18-34, living in the United States completed a survey conducted by the Center for Engaged Learning and the Elon Poll that was intended: To explore how commonly graduates experienced high impact undergraduate experiences, including meaningful relationships with faculty, undergraduate research, internships, and more. To investigate what skills and competencies are the most important in their day-to-day lives now, and whether they developed those skills in college. To establish the most common types of writing college graduates do for their jobs, and whether college prepared them to do this writing. Participants were predominantly 25-34 (80%), female (56%), and employed full time (69%). Most were continuing generation students (62%) who had taken classes in-person (86%) while living on or near campus (65%). Most identified as White (non-Hispanic, 67%), Black (non-Hispanic, 11%), or Hispanic or Latinx (12%). In 2021, 1,832 college graduates, age 18-34, living in the United States completed a survey conducted by the Center for Engaged Learning and the Elon Poll that was indented to examine the experiences of younger, recent college graduates. Participants were predominantly 25-34 (80%), female (56%), and employed full time (73%). Most were continuing generation students (66%) who had taken classes in-person (82%) while living on or near campus (65%). Most (84%) had worked while pursuing their degree, with over a third (39%) working only off campus. Most had received scholarships of non-debt financial aid (69%). Most identified as White (67%), Hispanic (12%), or Black (11%). In 2024, the Center for Engaged Learning conducted an online survey of U.S. residents who were 18-34 years old and graduates of two- or four-year higher education institutions (n=956). The survey explored recent graduates’ experiences during college with the key practices for fostering engaged learning, high-impact practices (e.g., internships, study away), and mentoring. Participants also offered insight on skills they used in their day-to-day lives and whether they developed those skills in college. The online survey was conducted April 18-19, 2024. Suggested Citation Vandermaas-Peeler, Maureen, Jessie L. Moore, and Tim Peeples. 2024. “Research Overview.” Mentoring Matters: Supporting Students’ Development of Mentoring Constellations in Higher Education. Center for Engaged Learning. https://www.centerforengagedlearning.org/mentoring-matters.
