Advising and mentoring
October 11, 2018 |
Advising season is upon us! Many of your calendars are already brimming with student meetings. Too often, I know, you’ll have barely enough time to help each student select a workable schedule, and far too little for conversation. That’s ok. Advising for registration, at its best, provides timely practical advice while communicating that you care for each student.
Mentoring is something different. It can’t be assigned, and it can’t (simply) be scheduled on a calendar. It develops in classrooms; through discussions about a book or a mathematical concept; or in one-on-one conversations about a student’s own writing.
And still the clock ticks, and the lines of advisees stretches down the hall. I get it. So this advising season, I encourage you to do a few easy things—the kind of things I first learned from Sandy Korros and other senior colleagues: encourage your students to explore intellectually, to seek out classes with exceptional teachers (even at inconvenient times of the day), and to take responsibility for their own learning (including their own degree requirements).
Lastly, don’t neglect to submit midterm grades—so that other faculty advisors and success coaches can quickly see identify students who may need some extra guidance.
David Mengel
