I may be wrong but here goes. I read in a CD forum that a quote from Dean said something to the tune of, It is not bad to have Engineers build the robots. If students are inspired by what they can see being accomplished then the goal is being met.
I have gone strictly off memory but I believe the spirit is correct. The reason I remember is, I felt that some times as mentors we may do too much. Learning is accomplished through making mistakes and recognizing them. I read Deans statements and felt that SOMETIMES mentors might end up doing too much but should always strive to have student input and involvement. My feelings are that if sponsors are completely taking over then they should read and study the mentoring guide below. I see mentoring as a fine line that as mentors we must watch closely so as not to turn students off from a GREAT experience.
http://www.usfirst.org/robotics/mentoring.htm