Freshman Engineering Leadership Team: Student Mentors For Recruitment And Retention

Peer mentoring is commonly used in universities for a variety of student sewices and instructional activities. However, use of mentors in independent instruction is relatively new in engineering education. The student-peer relationship is unique and can capitalize on certain traits such as honesty, approachability, and empathy. This potentially surpasses that of the faculty-student relationship. Capturing these elements and implementing them into the Freshman Engineering experience requires commitment and resources; however, in application to recruitment and retentio~ the numerous benefits outweigh initial investments.