Building and maintaining strong connections between your mentorship program and existing student support services and campus life is vital for sustained success. There must be a joint effort in guiding mentors and mentees through their mentorship journey, and providing the necessary support.
Integrate Flag Reporting
Connect your mentorship program with campus support services through flag reporting. If mentees have assigned academic advisors, advisors can be emailed for all flags submitted for the mentees in their caseload. If there are flag topics that can be best addressed by another office at your institution (e.g. “Financial Concerns” flags being addressed by the Financial Aid Office), Mentor Collective can also accommodate this and adjust flag recipients accordingly.
Immerse Mentorship into the Curriculum
Foster faculty buy-in to integrate mentorship programs into the classroom curriculum. Encourage faculty to market the program to their students, guide them in navigating mentorships, and highlight the correlation between mentorship relationships and academic success. Deans can be particularly important connections, as they set expectations for department chairs and faculty in integrating mentorship into the classroom through verbal communication, written materials, course syllabi, and learning management systems, like Canvas.
Host Faculty-Led Panels
Organize panels led by faculty members to discuss mentorship-related topics. For example, in programs focused on career readiness, career services and faculty members may wish to offer a panel on using mentorship as a career exploration tool or networking opportunity to aid in their career progression. These discussions, both inside and outside the classroom, contribute to a culture of mentorship on campus and reinforce its importance.
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