Mentor Coordinator

The Graduate College at Western Michigan University established a Mentor Coordinator position as part of its effort toward fulfilling AGEP’s objectives.

Specific duties and responsibilities of the position include:

• Monitoring student progress
• Fostering faculty/student mentoring relationships
• Developing mentoring programs for doctoral and master’s degree students that include meetings each semester
• Developing a faculty mentor training program in collaboration with the Director of the Graduate Center for Research and Retention
• Preparing written evaluations of all mentoring programs and activities
• Attending MI-AGEP functions and conferences as needed

Monitoring Student Progress

The Mentor Coordinator monitors student progress through two primary methods. The first is the Student Profile, a formal data collection tool used to gather information concerning students’ progress toward degree completion and in teaching, publication, and professional development activities. The second is face-to-face interactions between the Mentor Coordinator and students, which are designed to assess their levels of involvement in learning and integration into their departments and the university, as well as to provide support in dealing with the stress associated with graduate work.

Fostering Faculty/Student Mentoring Relationships and Developing Mentoring Programs for Doctoral and Master’s Degree Students

The Mentor Coordinator establishes faculty/student mentoring relationships by matching students with faculty members who have similar career and research interests. Initiatives are underway to create more formal mentoring programs. These initiatives include:

• workshops and lectures on how to select a mentor and make the most of the mentoring experience;
• the development of a monthly brown bag series where AGEP scholars and their mentors meet to discuss their research, navigating the path to the professoriate, and other relevant topics, and
• the development of a peer mentoring program. While all mentoring provides both psychosocial and career-related benefits that facilitate success in vulnerable students, research has shown that peer mentoring enhances these benefits by providing students with relationships that are less constrained by issues of power and authority, and are more open, intimate, and enduring.

Developing a Faculty Mentor Training Program in Collaboration with the Director of the Graduate Center for Research and Retention

The development of a faculty mentor training program is underway. How to Mentor Graduate Students: A Guide for Faculty, a training manual developed by the Rackham Graduate School at the University of Michigan, has been selected as a model for the program’s guidebook.

Preparing Written Evaluations of all Mentoring Programs and Activities

The Mentor Coordinator has included plans for evaluation in all mentoring program initiatives. These evaluations are based on progress toward positive outcomes, as indicated by the mentoring and higher education literature. Specific areas for evaluation, therefore, are focused on career and psychosocial functions served – including levels of information sharing, career strategizing, and engagement in professional development activities – and the acceptance and sense of belonging that result from the mentoring relationships.

Attending MI-AGEP Functions and Conferences as Needed

The Mentor Coordinator attends MI-AGEP functions and conferences as needed.

This is just one of the many programs developed at Western Michigan University and supported by AGEP funding. For more information contact Debby Mitchell.