In their recent book, Relationship–Rich Education, Elon colleagues Drs. Peter Felten and Leo Lambert weave together dozens of stories emphasizing the importance of meaningful connections for successful learning and well-being in higher education. Drawing on hundreds of interviews, they offer extensive evidence of the power of relationships between learners and peers, staff, and faculty, asserting that all students should “create webs of…

by Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler and Caroline Ketcham In the second summer of the CEL seminar on Excellence in Mentoring Undergraduate Research (UR), participants worked to identify the key characteristics of mentoring relationships in the context of student, faculty and institutional development. …

by Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler In the recent AAC&U symposium entitled, America’s Global Future:  Are College Students Prepared?, presenters and participants grappled with such difficult questions as “What do our students need from their college studies to contribute and thrive in a 21st-century…

by Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler Can participation in undergraduate research help to facilitate sustained, collaborative and multi-disciplinary partnerships between students and faculty mentors, as well as partnerships that extend beyond the institutional walls?  At a recent workshop sponsored by the Council for Undergraduate…

George Kuh (2008) identified undergraduate research (UR) as a high-impact educational practice, one that has the potential to deepen students’ learning, strengthen self-awareness and broaden perspective-taking abilities, among many other benefits. Working closely with a faculty mentor is one of the defining characteristics of an undergraduate research experience (Lopatto, 2003), and faculty mentors are expected to guide students through the research process and be invested in the results or products (Osborne & Karukstis, 2009). Mentors often fulfill a psychosocial function as well (Johnson, 2006). Although mentoring is assumed to be a crucial component of successful student outcomes, surprisingly little empirical research has focused on mentoring in the context of UR.

Here are highlights of what we do know…