Establishing an eMentor program: Increasing the interaction between accounting majors and professionals

This chapter describes an eMentor program used as a cocurricular professional development activity for accounting majors at a university that is located in a relatively small city, geographically distant from the primary location of its major recruiters. The key element of the program is the use of e-mail as a communication channel to link students in our accounting program with accounting and business professionals. We provide information regarding our eMentor program's mission and objectives, recruiting professionals and students to participate, and an examination of data collected to evaluate the program. In addition, we identify the topics discussed during the interactions between professional mentors and students. Finally, we provide insights based on our experiences on running a successful eMentor program.

Results indicate that the program is an overall success since a high proportion of students and professionals agree/strongly agree that the program meets its mission and objectives, and virtually all of the professionals agree/strongly agree that the program is a worthwhile use of their time. Most student–mentor pairs have had several e-mail contacts and at least one phone contact, with a majority of students initiating some contact. The topics discussed most frequently centered on college curriculum choices and professional career path options, including the benefits of internships and externships.