Faculty member mentoring new instructor

Focused on teaching excellence, the Faculty Mentoring Program advances the teaching profession by facilitating the establishment of professional relationships. Through the program, full-time faculty strategically affect the professional lives of new faculty by fostering insight, impacting student learning outcomes, providing support, and creating an environment that supports collegial growth.
Trained mentors serve as coach, counselor, advisor, and role model to assist assigned mentees in achieveing teaching excellence and successful acclimation to the college environment.  Through a structured process of formative observation and conferencing, both mentor and mentee observe each other in the classroom setting, share best practices, and provide feedback in post-observation sessions.
Through confidential, non-evaluative communications, both mentor and mentee learn, share, question, and challenge.  Such on-going dialogue builds trust and confidence that lead to more positive, productive outcomes for mentor and mentee, as well as for students.
In summary, the goals of the Faculty Mentoring Program include the following:

  • Enhance student learning
  • Foster best practices in teaching by developing relationships and resource sharing
  • Create a support system for new faculty through networking with full-time faculty
  • Build community, collegiality, and positive climate for faculty
  • Contribute to faculty morale and motivation

For more information, contact your Division Chair.