%0 Journal Article
%T Holding Your Hand From a Distance: Online Mentoring and the Graduate Library and Information Science Student
%A Elizabeth A. Buchanan
%A Sarah E. Myers
%A Sherrie Langston Hardin
%J Journal of Educators Online
%D 2005
%I Journal of Educators Online
%X The emergence of online education in colleges and universities brings with it a variety of issues and concerns for the remote student. One such issue is online mentoring. This paper presents a study that examines perceptions of the impact and role of online mentoring by online graduate students in a Master of Library and Information Science program. The guiding research question asked ¡°what impact does online mentoring have on the online student experience?¡± A survey using open and closed-ended response questions was administered. Findings indicate that the participants see the need for online mentors in at least two forms¡ªpeer mentors to assist with the ¡°institutional maze¡± surrounding distance education programs, and secondly, professional mentors to assist with career planning and development. Institutions should thus consider a two-tiered mentor network to meet the needs of students at various points in their academic lives.
%U http://www.thejeo.com/Elizabeth%20Buchanan%20Final.pdf