Mentoring Program Outline  -    2009

What is it:  The mentoring program is a planned, intentional relationship between experienced and relatively new advising professionals through which advice and counsel can be given, ideas exchanged and support and encouragement offered to the mentee.  The mentor and mentee will both benefit from this relationship, as will the students that each serves.

Who is involved:  Mentees are typically academic advisors with less than 3 years of experience.  Mentors are typically academic advisors with 5 years of experience or more.

Program Goals:

• Retaining Academic Advising Professionals
• Improvement of Academic Advising performance
• Expansion of the Professional Network
• Professional Collaboration

Recruitment of Mentors and Mentees: 

Mentors and mentees are recruited from the list of registrants for the Region 2 Annual Conference.  Qualified individuals are contacted by email and invited to participate in the program.  Pairings are made by the mentoring program coordinator, based upon various criteria, which include but are not limited to: Professional or Faculty Advisors, Advising Administrators, Type of institution, geographic location, and others self-identified by recruits.

Participants are notified of their paired mentor/mentee and are invited to a formal mentoring reception on the opening day of the regional conference.

The mentoring year: 

Mentors and mentees are encouraged to contact each other informally throughout the year to discuss issues of the moment.

In addition, a list of suggested topics of discussion is being generated by the Mentoring Program Coordinator and will be distributed both electronically and in print to mentors in the first month of the program

Assessment:  An assessment process for the program is in development and will be distributed to all participants when available.

For additional information, or to request to be a Mentor or Mentee, please contact:

Bruce Norris, Mentoring Program Coordinator for Region 2 NACADA

25 University Avenue, Suite 1

West Chester University of PA

West Chester, PA 19383

610.436.3548; 610.436.3483 (fax)

bnorris@wcupa.edu