A new mentoring program by the University of New England’s School of Health, with the aim to promote student engagement and networking, is hoping to mitigate the isolation. While it has only been in practice for eight months it has yielded encouraging results and very positive feedback from students.
Under the program, titled Social Workers as Mentors or SWAM and which is offered to both Masters of Social Work and Bachelor of Social students, senior students in social work are matched with students in a student-led peer-mentoring network.
The idea is based on Bachelor of Social Work Coordinator, Dr Sarah Wayland’s previous experience with face-to-face peer mentoring at the University of Sydney.
“I wanted to offer similar support at UNE but in a way that was reflective of the UNE demographic, which are typically students geographically isolated from one another and often juggling work/life/study commitments,” Dr Wayland said of her proposal.
“I’ve previously benefitted from mentoring in research, including learning necessary processes and system and building lasting networks, and wanted our students to have that same experience.”
Discipline Lead for Social Work and Community Services Professor Myfanwy Maple was fully supportive of Sarah’s proposal.
“We have a ‘community’ Moodle site as well as a Facebook page to support and connect our students but it was clear that it was not really meeting their needs,” Professor Maple said. “The sometimes transient nature of online study - part-time, full time or intermittent - also made it harder for students to form supportive peer groups in their cohorts.
"Sarah’s proposal offered a way to bridge some of these gaps in how students engage with each other.”
Expressions of interest were sought from current Masters and Bachelor of Social Work students who undertook self-paced training about the role and boundaries of mentoring, ways to manage difficult situations and escalation procedures should mentors become concerned about mentees. In Trimester 1, 2021, 27 students completed the training and were matched with 57 mentees.
Mentors managed the connections and either ran zoom catch up sessions, created WhatsApp groups, offered email chats or simply talked on the phone. Dr Wayland also ran two drop-in mentor chats across the trimester for mentors to talk about their experiences and offer guidance on how to grow their skills.
Canberra-based mentor and very recent Bachelor of Social Work graduate Amy Fahey came to UNE with a previous qualification and personally experienced the difficulty of trying to fit with a specific cohort and developing peer relationships while studying online.
“I know how difficult it was to meet and connect with different people across my units so I jumped at the opportunity to help fellow students get to know each other and develop meaningful and lasting connections,” Ms Fahey said.
“I was also able to use my own experience to provide insights that may have been overlooked, as well as help with questions such as how to apply for an extension. It is a common question and one that can result in unnecessary anxiety for a student.
“And sometimes, when a student is really stressed about an assignment or test, I act as a supporter. Often a quick chat is all it takes to provide a fresh perspective on their concern.”
The mentors also provide invaluable support to course and unit coordinators who deal with hundreds of student questions on a weekly basis.
“It may be a simple as referring a student to an article they haven’t read, acting as a sounding board to reassure them that they are on the right track with an assignment, or encouraging to reach out to a lecturer,” Amy said.
Mentors also gain from the program as they have opportunity to practice and improve mentoring and group-work skills, two attributes that are very important to social workers.
Amy was assigned to first-in-family Bachelor of Social Work student Jess O’Brien from Muswellbrook and the two connected immediately.
“No one in my family has studied at this level before so I found the experience quite daunting in the beginning,” Jess said.
“It’s easy to feel disconnected when you’re studying online, especially as I enrolled late and missed the orienteering and induction modules, but Amy’s been wonderful in the support she’s provided. We’ve spoken about my study style, she’s referred me to resources that came in handy, and she is there when I need to talk through concepts and theories.”
SWAM proved very successful and in Trimester 2, 2021, another seven mentors completing their training while the number of mentees grew to 74. Its strong focus on student participation also saw it qualify for HEPPP funding (Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program) to help support administration cost.
“Going forward we plan to continue recruiting in T1 and T2 of each academic year,” Dr Wayland said. “We’re also working to link SWAM to UNE’s New England Award scheme to ensure students have outcomes that can be promoted on their resumes.”
