Standards of Practice
- Ethical standard to do no harm
- Commitment to inclusive practices
- Focus on skill building and strengthening resources for participants
- Establishment of program capacity for quality experiences
- Adoption of a continuous improvement mindset
- Alignment with ±¬ÁÏ¹Ï mission, vision or values
Prior to establishing a mentoring program, here are some considerations:
- Articulate the problem/reason
- Is mentoring the solution?
- Would your program fit within the broader ±¬ÁÏ¹Ï mentorship definition?
- To avoid duplication of resources and efforts, check to see what other programs exist.
- Articulate the gap your new program is filling
- What resources are available to establish a new program (staffing, time, budget, etc.)?
- Ensure appropriate leadership is supportive
- Define clear goals and objectives
- Purpose-Driven: Establish clear goals for the mentorship program (such as skill development, career advancement, leadership growth, onboarding support, etc.)
- Program should have mission statement that includes who they serve and what they aim to accomplish
- Create a logic model that can showcase how efforts are connected to the goals
- Develop measurable outcomes: Set clear metrics to evaluate the program’s success (e.g., participant satisfaction, retention rates, skill improvement)
- Include funding sources that support mentoring program
- Consider adding to the ±¬ÁÏ¹Ï mentorship definition based on the program’s specific goals
- Collect and publish program information: History, program function and design (length of the mentoring program timeline), etc.
- Have information prepared to be added to Mentoring @ ±¬ÁÏ¹Ï webpage - Submit
- Program Name
- Program Type (Peer to Peer, Professional Staff to Student, or ±¬ÁÏ¹Ï Faculty to Student)
- Brief description (1 sentence describing the program and listing 1 unique aspect of the program)
- Primary setting (One on one, or Group)
- Student Eligibility (Any undergraduate, Any graduate, Other)
- If other, please specify eligibility
- If interested, contact first and last name, and email address
- Link to website
- Have information prepared to be added to Mentoring @ ±¬ÁÏ¹Ï webpage - Submit
- Create standard operating procedures and written policies for program longevity
- Plan to review and update program materials annually
Mentor Recruitment:
- Create clear communications for potential mentor recruits that detail benefits, responsibilities, program practices, internal supports, and challenges of being a mentor
- Ensure that recruits receive messaging that reflects a culture that celebrates the positive attitudes and emotions that mentoring brings
- Determine how and where you will recruit diverse mentors who have the skills, motivations, and backgrounds that match well with the program structure and outcome goals
- Create a tiered recruitment strategy that may include referrals from current mentors and mentees, maybe former mentees, or those who have specific skills
- Have diverse mentors who reflect the mentee population
- Establish an application process that gathers information needed
Mentee Recruitment:
- Recruit mentees whose needs best align with program offerings/services
- Create clear communications for potential mentee recruits that detail benefits, responsibilities, program practices, internal supports, and challenges of being a mentee
- Provide different modalities and opportunities to connect, learn, and understand
- Provide opportunity to hear back from prior participants
- Share a public statement that outlines eligibility requirements of mentees
- List out program dates and times and expectations
Mentor Screening & Enrollment:
- Establish clear requirements and/or criteria for qualifying applicants to ensure the program standards and goals are met
- Establish application, interview, and selection processes
- If needed, establish vetting process for mentors. Examples include:
- In-person or online face-to-face interviews
- Criminal history check
- Reference check
- Formalize their commitment to participation in the program, following program expectations and timelines
Mentee Screening & Enrollment:
- Establish clear requirements and/or criteria for qualifying applicants to ensure the program standards and goals are met
- Establish application, interview, and selection processes
- If needed, establish vetting process for mentees
- Formalize their commitment to participation in the program, following program expectations and timelines
Require training for mentors and mentees that:
- Provides an introduction to the program
- Prepares them for their role
- Shares and assesses learning outcomes
- Consider if there is a difference in training for returning vs. new mentors and mentees
- Provide ongoing training and upskilling opportunities
Mentor Training
- Suggested topics the training should include:
- Mentorship overview
- Definition and purpose
- Key mentoring skills, such as active listening, empathy, social capital, advocacy and support
- Program specific information sharing
- Program values, beliefs, and ethical principles
- Program requirements, rules, and expectations, including participation in program activities
- Mentoring relationship and limitations
- Troubleshooting and/or concerns process
- Program contact information
- Mentoring relationship information sharing
- Communication/outreach plan
- Goal setting and expectations
- Safety
- University calendar and events
- Academic calendar
- Awareness to finals week and school breaks/closures
- Mentorship overview
- Consider networking/engagement/team building activity
- Consider a moment to connect and share past experiences from returning mentors, including challenges
- Tools for mentors
- Structured conversation resources
- Resources and referral document, including academics, basic needs, safety, etc.
Mentee Training
- Topics the training should include:
- Mentorship overview
- Definition and purpose
- Key mentoring skills, such as active listening, empathy, social capital, advocacy and support
- Program specific information sharing
- Program values, beliefs, and ethical principles
- Program requirements, rules, and expectations, including participation in program activities
- Mentoring relationship and limitations
- Troubleshooting and/or concerns process
- Program contact information
- Mentoring relationship information sharing
- Communication/outreach plan
- Goal setting and expectations
- Safety
- Mentorship overview
- Consider networking/engagement/team building activity
- Consider a moment to connect and share past experiences from returning/past mentees, including challenges
- Tools for mentees
- Developing an introduction message
- Opportunities to engage
- Consider training method
- In-person, virtual, asynchronous, or combination
- Gather feedback from participants to assess if the training met needs
- Established criteria and process to determine potential compatibility
- Shared backgrounds or experiences, interests, academic and career goals, etc.
- Established matching procedure, including confirmation of match
- Provide a formal introduction, sharing background and contact information
- Consider confirmation or agreement form that highlights expectations and important dates, if applicable
- Plan standard and timely check ins
- Consider community building opportunities
- Connect with needed resources/development
- Document experiences (pictures, video, notes, etc.)
- Schedule ongoing communication
- Plan for ongoing assessment
- Suggestions/Recommendations:
- Check in with your division on assessment assistance
- Consider what demographic information you may want to include
- Consider delivery of assessment
- Use MonarchGroups to collect data when possible
- Try to collect data during final meetings/events while individuals are present
- Consider length of your assessment and types of questions (qualitative vs. quantitative, short answer vs. multiple choice etc.)
- For example: In one word or a few sentences, how would you describe your experience?
- Suggestions/Recommendations:
- Celebrate wins
- Provide opportunity to debrief
- Review assessment results and share success metrics with key stakeholders
- Clarify next steps
- Programmatic updates and changes
- Expectations of continuing or closing the relationship
- Mentor/mentee participation in future program cycles