Journal of Engineering Education Transformations

Mentoring has a good impact and influence in undergraduate STEM students' perseverance. It is crucial in any profession and engineering is no exception. By supporting them in directing their efforts and by helping them create objectives and receive feedback, mentors may encourage and facilitate both professional and personal growth. In order for a mentee to maximize their potential, develop their skills, and transform into the person they want to be, mentoring involves guidance and support in the way they manage their learning. With this as the driving force, an effort is made in this study to develop a survey instrument to capture the understanding of the first-year engineering students in relation to the roles and responsibilities of mentors in engineering course, mentors' attention to the physical and mental health of students, goal-setting, mentees' skill development and maintaining trust and confidentiality. In fall 2022, a survey instrument was developed for quantitative analysis and administered to first-year engineering students at an autonomous college HITAM in South of India, 263 participants responded. The survey instrument's factor structure was determined using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), which yielded four factors. The Cronbach's α ranged from 0.67 and 0.92 and for factors' minimum and highest loading were 0.43 and 0.92. This survey instrument could be utilized by a varied institution in order to evaluate students' present levels of understanding for accountabilities and duties of mentors, to assist and encourage mentees learning so that they can reach their full potential and enhance their abilities.