Faculty Mentoring

Faculty mentors develop, support and guide students as they work towards their academic and professional goals. Faculty mentors focus on assisting with student's career development, research opportunities, professional skills enhancement through internships, and personal growth in the student's field of study.

Faculty Mentoring vs. Academic Advising

The faculty mentor role differs from that of an academic advisor, as the mentor focus is more on the academic discipline and field of study, utilizing the expertise of the faculty member.

The following table provides examples of how a faculty mentor and academic advisor role may work together with students.

Faculty Mentor Role	Academic Advisor Role
Discussion around specific skills and courses needed for future career goals.	Discussion around courses needed to fulfill major, general education, and graduation requirements.
Careers students can pursue within their major/field of study.	Assisting students with resources to support their holistic college experience.
Internship and research experience; high-impact practices within the discipline.	Navigating K-State processes, policies and systems.
Supporting students with challenges they may be experiencing with their major courses.	Supporting students with challenges they may be experiencing in courses or with their college experience.
More flexible meeting times and intereactions over the student's time at the university.	Scheduled structure and required meetings at least once a term to review academic plans and academic goals.

Faculty Mentoring Guidelines and Expectations

Communication

Faculty mentors use Navigate to send regular communications to their mentees. Students may make an appointment directly within Navigate. To establish a good mentor-mentee relationship, several meetings are recommended each term.

Communicating mentee-mentor expectations is important. A good working relationship requires both parties to initiate meetings and follow up. Students should share goals and areas where they would like assistance and advice. Mentors should outline areas where they can support students.

Mentoring Activities & Topics

Mentors have numerous options when meeting with student mentees. This may include one-to-one meetings, or group meetings with multiple students. Offering open times and inviting all mentees to participate allows flexibility. Drop-in Zoom rooms are even another option for conversations.

Mentoring may look different for each student. Here are some general ideas and topics:

Sharing career options within a field of study via informal chats with students.
Inviting students to participate in conferences or professional development opportunities within the field of study and encourage them to submit a presentation or poster.
Sharing the latest research or professional articles and publications with mentees; involve mentees in research projects and publications.
Discuss graduate program options and preparation, assist with applications, interviews and personal statements.
Sharing scholarship opportunities within the field of study.
Professional networking by inviting them to events or social gatherings.
Involve students in service learning opportunities.

Faculty Mentor and Academic Advisor Collaboration

Student success is important to both faculty mentors and academic advisors. Collaboration is the key to best supporting students, so knowing and defining clear areas of responsibilities and recognizing areas of overlap is important.

Advisors and Mentors

Must have great collaboration on the curriculum
- Advisors should be included in academic department meetings, communications and decisions in curriculum changes.
- Advisors should reach out to faculty when questions about curriculum arise.
Have mutual responsibility for retention efforts
- Collaboration on outreach to students regarding persistence
- Students having two support people in the college is a plus
- Knowing each role and when referrals should occur – trust between mentor and advisor needs to be present for the student’s experience to be smooth
Must have good communication and consistent messages to students
- From both faculty mentors and advisors
- Using one platform, Navigate, for student notes and communication assists faculty and advisors in knowing a student’s “full picture”.
- Know when to refer a student to their academic advisor or to their faculty mentor for assistance.

The following table includes common duties of an advisor, a mentor and areas of overlap.

Advisors	Area of Overlap	Faculty Mentors
Advising Duties Flag lifting Long-range planning GPA calculations Academic Standing Enrollment help Graduation check/reminders to complete grad app University/departmental interpretation and implementation Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) appeals VA Paperwork Transfer course evaluations Reinstatement application support Late drop/withdrawal Academic Fresh Start/Academic Forgiveness Wabash Refresh support DARS Interpretation and training Adjustments/course substitution request Online Technology Assistance KSIS, Navigate, Canvas, etc. General Student Success Strategies General University Policies and Procedures	Long term and short-term goal discussions Academic goals Career goals Graduate /professional school Personal goals Discussions related to changing majors/minors On and off-campus referrals to resources Involvement opportunities within or outside of the college Progress report/alerts follow-up and outreach Course concerns	Advanced and upper-level course selection and recommendations Internships On-campus Off-Campus Research Opportunities Research lab assistant positions Grants Scholarships in the field of study/college/related organizations Involvement in the department Clubs Organizations Conferences and events Letters of recommendation Professional skill development Success strategies for content High-impact practices for disciplines Professional networking

Students should contact their home academic college or department to learn more about faculty mentoring available in their major.