A Semester in My Shoes: A Reciprocal Mentoring Project

We explored the lived experiences of students identifying with a minoritized group in relation to the Academic Advising relationship through a reciprocal mentoring project. Five staff-student pairings mentored each other during a series of scheduled meetings focused on key themes around Academic Advising. Students were required to self-identify as belonging to categories highlighted institutionally as being minoritized. Of those groups, students in the study identified as belonging to one or more of the following groups: racially minoritized, international, having caring responsibilities and mature students. Pairs aimed for four meetings over a semester. Meetings were supported by suggested “getting to know you” activities and discussion prompts about the role of the Academic Adviser, experiences of the students and staff, and effects this could have on engagement with Academic Advising. Finally, staff and students took part in separate focus groups and qualitative data were analysed using Framework Analysis. Preliminary data revealed staff reporting deeper awareness of the lived experiences of students from minoritized groups. This may foster better understanding and cultural change within their department. Some students reported understanding better the value of Academic Advising from taking part and subsequently engaged with their named Academic Adviser. These students can act as ambassadors for Academic Advising, which may help other students to make use of the support available Some student participants revealed that they had previously not understood and/or had had poor experiences of academic advising. This information can be used to develop institutional training for staff and expectation setting for students.