1. Gender & IT Education Gender and IT Education Conference, Indiana University, 2007 Gender & IT Education The Importance of Mentors Faculty and Student Experiences in Mentoring and Being Mentored Christine Ogan and Jean Robinson

2. Gender & IT Education Gender and IT Education Conference, Indiana University, 2007 Data Sets Used Web survey of undergraduate and graduate students Telephone survey using faculty and administrator respondents

3. Gender & IT Education Gender and IT Education Conference, Indiana University, 2007 Overall findings from Faculty Survey Most faculty reported having mentors as students The gender of the mentor most often was the same (75.8%) as was the race (73.8%). However, women less likely to identify a current mentor as someone of same gender. Faculty in applied fields more likely to have mentors today/Also more likely to have had mentors as graduate students

4. Gender & IT Education Gender and IT Education Conference, Indiana University, 2007 What Mentors do for Faculty 50-70% Report Experiencing this Help (Kram’s dimensions) Inform them about campus conditions Inform them about work environment Inform them about opportunities for new projects Provide psychological support (women report getting significantly more help here)

5. Gender & IT Education Gender and IT Education Conference, Indiana University, 2007 Networking Experiences 87.1% say they have a network to turn to. Relationship between gender of the faculty member and gender of the network (r=.29) Networks are somewhat/very important in advancing careers (91.9%) The longer a faculty member spends in a unit, the less likely he/she will have a network (r=.16).

6. Gender & IT Education Gender and IT Education Conference, Indiana University, 2007 Other Important Findings Faculty in applied fields feel their values are more similar to others in their field than do computer scientist faculty. The longer women had been in the field, the closer they felt their values were to those of the field (r=.19). Men reported more socializing than did women. The longer women were in the field the more likely they rejected the existence of an “in group” in their unit.

7. Gender & IT Education Gender and IT Education Conference, Indiana University, 2007 Role Modeling 32% say they always think about being a role model for students 52.4% sometimes think about being a role model for students

8. Gender & IT Education Gender and IT Education Conference, Indiana University, 2007 Ways Faculty Mentor 94% say they are engaged in mentoring In open ended answers all refer to positive mentoring activities--no difficulties described Most activities related to graduate student mentoring (research groups, dissertations, conferences)

9. Gender & IT Education Gender and IT Education Conference, Indiana University, 2007 Students’ View of Role Models in Computer Science Fewer than 30 percent of undergraduates identified a male or female faculty member as a person who served as a role model for them. About 56% of master’s students id’d a faculty member About 60% of PhD students id’d a faculty member

10. Gender & IT Education Gender and IT Education Conference, Indiana University, 2007 Students’ View of Role Models in Applied IT Fewer than 40% of undergraduates identified a faculty member as someone who served as a role model. 52% of master’s students id’d a faculty member. 72% of PhD students id’d a faculty member.

11. Gender & IT Education Gender and IT Education Conference, Indiana University, 2007 Mentor Question Format The next set of questions asks about mentors. For each of the following situations, select one button for the person most associated with the situation in your current program of studies. Male faculty member, female faculty member, Other male, Other Female, Not applicable

12. Gender & IT Education Gender and IT Education Conference, Indiana University, 2007 Gone out of their way to promote your career interests 23% of CS undergrads identified a faculty member 44% of Applied undergrads identified a faculty member

13. Gender & IT Education Gender and IT Education Conference, Indiana University, 2007 Recommended you for Something that Helped you Learn New Skills 36% of CS undergrads identified a faculty member 54% of Applied undergrads identified a faculty

14. Gender & IT Education Gender and IT Education Conference, Indiana University, 2007 Helped you obtain a fellowship or internship 23% of computer science undergrads identified a faculty member 34% of applied undergrads identified a faculty member.

15. Gender & IT Education Gender and IT Education Conference, Indiana University, 2007 Encouraged you to Think About Graduate School 37% of computer science undergrads could identify a faculty member 35% of Applied undergrads could identify a faculty member

16. Gender & IT Education Gender and IT Education Conference, Indiana University, 2007 Conveyed feeling of Respect for you as an Individual 41% of CS students could identify a faculty member 54% of Applied students could identify a faculty member

17. Gender & IT Education Gender and IT Education Conference, Indiana University, 2007 Shared History of His/Her Career with you 47% of CS undergrads could identify a faculty member 61% of Applied undergrads could identify a faculty member.

18. Gender & IT Education Gender and IT Education Conference, Indiana University, 2007 Displayed attitudes and values about the field similar to your own 36% of C.S. undergrads could identify a faculty member. 49% of Applied undergrads could identify a faculty member.

19. Gender & IT Education Gender and IT Education Conference, Indiana University, 2007 Who most encouraged you to Study in an IT Field (CS) Of undergrads, 5% identified a male teacher and 2.1% identified a female teacher. Of Master’s students, 7.9% identified a male teacher and nobody identified a female teacher. Of PhD students, 8.4% identified a male teacher and.6% identified a female teacher

20. Gender & IT Education Gender and IT Education Conference, Indiana University, 2007 Who most encouraged Applied Students to Study in an IT Field Undergrads: 7.0% identified a male teacher and 5.5% identified a female teacher. Master’s: 3.4% identified a male teacher and 2.0% identified a female teacher. PhD: 4.0% identified a male teacher and nobody identified a female teacher.

21. Gender & IT Education Gender and IT Education Conference, Indiana University, 2007

22. Gender & IT Education Gender and IT Education Conference, Indiana University, 2007 Conclusions/Recommendations Mentoring would be a stronger predictor of belonging and satisfaction if there were more mentoring going on. Applied Units were more female friendly in their practice of mentoring Mentoring not adequately rewarded in IT higher education.

23. Gender & IT Education Gender and IT Education Conference, Indiana University, 2007 Unsolicited Student Comments “Most computer science classes are so large that there is little (if any at all) teacher-student interaction, which is unfortunate. Everyone is treated fairly, but learning is very impersonal.” “I found the faculty in computer science very unhelpful. I am switching my major to mathematics because of that.”

24. Gender & IT Education Gender and IT Education Conference, Indiana University, 2007 And more comments... “If it wasn’t for a certain faculty member, I would not be where I am today or even headed in the direction I am today.” The department of informatics at this student’s school “tries to hard to make a name for itself” and in doing so is “biased towards the top students.” “I realized that going to a big ten school and majoring in computer science makes personal interactions with professors just about impossible. It turns out personalityless programmers.”

25. Gender & IT Education Gender and IT Education Conference, Indiana University, 2007 And finally.... “My school doesn’t have mentorship programs as far as I know. Reading those questions made me realize that the only person who cares about me getting a decent education is me.”