Dr. Albert D. Widman Berkeley College Utilizing Practitioner Mentors in Online Education

The Question: Mentors are acknowledged as a great resource for undergraduates in on-campus programs, but can they provide value for online learners? Lessons from a successful online mentoring program in a Nonprofit Management course at Berkeley College.

Are Mentoring Benefits Transferable to An Online Environment? What are the anticipated benefits of Mentoring? –Learning from a seasoned professional. –Acquiring insight into company cultures, dynamics, politics, and etiquette. –Exploring concepts with a professional removed from grading. –Receiving coaching and feedback. –Gaining greater career clarity.

Recommended Resources Marszalek, Snauffer, Good, Monte (2005). “Mentors Improve the College Experience of Engineering Undergraduates.” Frontiers in Education, Vol.19 (22). W. Brad Johnson. On Being A Mentor: A Guide for Higher Education Faculty. Routledge Publishing (2006) “Mentoring college students can be deeply rewarding for faculty and genuinely life- altering for undergraduates.”

How is Online Mentoring Usually Done? Usually faculty mentors or graduate students. –Overcoming e-Learning barriers –“Social Connectedness Initiators” –Rarely on content issues (other than public health curricula). We matched practitioners with students to assist primarily with content issues in a nonprofit management course.

Recommended Resources Chang, S. (2004). The Roles of Mentors in Electronic Learning Environments. AACE Journal. Vol. 12 (3). Dyer, Linda. (2008). The Continuing Need for Nurses in Nursing. Journal for Nurses in Staff Development. Vol 24 (2).

Constraint: Practitioner Time Practitioners are busy…particularly at the upper levels. –Two Executive Directors –One Corporate Counsel –Three Vice Presidents –Budget Director and several Program Managers. Need for Professor to set guidelines with students about what appropriate access is.

Constraint: Practitioner Time I assigned one Mentor per two students. Designated point of contact was unless Mentor preferred something else. Told that responses should be within 48 hours. Limited to a five week period leading up to the student’s final project. No part of the project was to be written by Mentors. Mentors responded to questions, provided guidance from their experience, communicated issues and problems with draft student work (but no re-writing).

Phases of the Relationship: Advice to Mentors Build trust and rapport. Provide guidance and feedback. Challenge students to apply their knowledge to a practical problem or issue.

Project Results: Students Students said they immediately recognized the uniqueness of the mentor experience. Students loved the idea of being able to show a draft of their ideas to a practitioner. All students, except one, successfully completed a difficult final project. Submissions were more advanced than would have otherwise been expected. Enrollment in the next offering of the class doubled due to “word of mouth.” An additional section was added.

Project Results: Mentors All said they would participate in the future with similar “rules of engagement.” None felt that the process, as structured, was overly intrusive on their time. Many mentioned the hope that more students might consider a career in nonprofit management due to the exposure.

How Did I Attract Practitioner Mentors? Personal contacts. Organizations you donate to. to midsize local organization. Contacts used by the college’s career services department. Former students working in the field.