From Face-to-Face to e-Mentoring: Does the "e" Add Any Value for Mentors?

Abstract

For many years, face-to-face peer mentoring has been a feature of learning support provided to first year
\nundergraduate students at one university in the UK. Building on the success of these initiatives,
\na scheme has been developed at this institution in which first-year undergraduates are mentored by
\nsecond- and third-year students through a variety of media, both face-to-face and electronic. A research study was undertaken to evaluate the implementation of scheme, part of which involved undertaking a series of interviews with the e-mentors who participated over the course of two years.
\nIn presenting the findings, this paper discusses the commonalities that emerged and between face-toface
\nand e-mentoring; reflects on ways in which use of the electronic medium adds to the generic benefits of mentoring; shows that e-mentoring impacts differently on mentors and mentees; and highlights some of the particular challenges e-mentoring presents to mentors. The implications for the selection and training of mentors are discussed in the final section of the paper