New Faculty Mentoring

Who is a mentee?

College of Education mentees are new UCM full-time tenure-track or instructional faculty. Rather than participating in formal mentoring, adjunct instructors participate in onboarding activities with their direct program or department contact. This handbook contains resources that will support both the mentoring program and onboarding activities. 

Who is a mentor?

College of Education mentors are faculty who represent a variety of backgrounds and roles in the college, such as chair, faculty member, or instructor across programs and departments. Mentors may not be the department chair for a person hired in their own department. Mentors may be identified through self-selection or identification by a colleague. A mentor is someone who is organized and proactive, accessible and timely, uses effective communication, encouraging, and supportive, and open-minded.

Mentor/Mentee Support

The College of Education Professional Development Committee will provide oversight and support to the mentor/mentee teams or groups to support the professional growth and development of all College of Education faculty. The formal relationship will be for the duration of the first year of hire. Support may continue after the first year if both parties choose.

Matching Mentors and Mentees

• Self-identify through the interest survey circulated each spring

• Chairs may identify faculty who they feel will serve well as mentors 

• Faculty may nominate a colleague as a mentor 

Identifying Mentors

Each spring semester the College Assembly Professional Development Committee will distribute a survey to faculty seeking interested individuals in becoming a mentor. Hiring committees and/or Department Chairs may identify individuals who exhibit mentoring qualities, or a colleague may nominate an individual who displays mentoring characteristics. Once interested individuals are identified, the committee will work with departments and programs to match mentors to mentees and will support the relationship through professional development sessions

Four Phases of the Mentoring Relationship

• The Professional Development Committee assigns mentors based on recommendations from the hiring committee and/or program. A pool of mentors will be established to assist with this process

• The mentor establishes the relationship with a welcome letter (see Mentor Resources below)

• Completion of mentor/mentee orientation hosted by the COE Professional Development Committee

• Mentor/Mentee determine meeting times/days that work for both mentor and mentee at the beginning of the semester 

• Mentor/Mentee set initial goals at the beginning of the mentoring program

• Mentor/Mentee selects mentor resources and activities 

• Set regular meetings and check-ins to support mentor/mentee goals

• Mentor/Mentee dyad evaluates annual goals 

• The committee gathers data via mentoring program survey to assess mentoring framework, processes, and materials to analyze and inform program effectiveness. 

What should a mentoring meeting look like?

New UCM faculty members have a lot of information that comes their way! As mentors, it is helpful for us to know what the focus of the mentoring program is and who we can connect our mentees 

• If the mentee is new to higher education and UCM:

  • • You will meet at least 6 times annually

      • • Once at the beginning of the year

        • Twice during the Fall semester

        • Twice during the Spring semester

        • Once at the end of the year

        • You are always welcome to meet more often!

• If the mentee is NOT new to higher education and UCM:

  • • You will meet at least once each semester

Mentor/Mentee partnerships should select at least 3 of the following activities to complete annually. 

• Initial meeting (within first weeks of semester)

• Develop Mentoring S.M.A.R.T. Goals together

• Check-in meetings

• Attend a professional development session together

• Observe teaching and reflection with discussion

• Meet over coffee or for lunch

Additional Recommendations for Mentor/Mentee Partnership

Mentors should. . .

• Support College of Education onboarding by reviewing common questions and expectations of the COE

• Use resources to orient mentees at the university and college level, such as the COE Faculty website, Acronym Guide, etc.

• Be open and available to answer questions on a regular basis (outside of scheduled meetings)

• Respond to and share in frequent two-way communication (emails, lunches, etc.)

• Connect their mentee to other resources outside of the mentor’s expertise or experience

• Be goal oriented by helping the mentee prioritize and balance approaches within the three areas of teaching, service, and scholarship considering committee obligations, teaching load, and opportunities to engage in scholarship

• Support mentee professional and personal development

• Support mentees by reviewing and discussing mentee resources available to them

Mentees should. . .

• Review documents and ask questions to gain confidence and knowledge of the inner workings of the college and university

• Be inquisitive and open to advice – be willing to ask questions and listen openly to determine the next steps after receiving input from their mentor

• Be goal-oriented – work to organize and prioritize teaching, service, and scholarship to achieve work-life balance as a new faculty member

Recommended Mentor/Mentee schedule

• • • August-support in committee assignment

    • September- schedule a peer observation

    • October- Submission of conference proposal support

    • November- support in completing the annual report and walking through the dossier process (using the COE template)

    • December- Reflecting on course evaluations

    • January- Support in brainstorming for article work/assisting with determining an article topic and assistance with IRB

    • February- Support article writing/peer observation/other support

    • March- Support article writing/peer observation/other support

    • April- As needed

    • May- Reviewing dossier to capture work during the first year, including peer observations, course evaluation reflections, conference proceedings, etc.

    • 2nd year: repeat the first year and include opportunities to support in adding to the dossier, including conversations regarding publications, conferences, diversity in committee work, etc.

    • 3rd year: Reviewing of dossier and support in preparation for submission, etc.

The COE College Assembly Executive Committee and Professional Development Committee oversee the mentoring program through the creation and review of materials and supportive resources for both mentors and mentees. Each spring semester, the Professional Development Committee will share a Mentor Preference Survey and use results to pair new mentees with mentors in the COE. At the start of the fall semester, a mentor/mentee orientation will be hosted by the Professional Development Committee. This orientation will include time to establish mentoring goals and may serve as one of the suggested meetings for the year. Yearly evaluation of the program will be conducted through end-of-year surveys. The COE College Assembly Executive Committee will disseminate survey results to the Professional Development Committee annually to review and determine ways to strengthen the mentoring program.