Mentoring Program

Mentee Benefits

As a result of the mentoring relationship, it is expected that mentees will:

• Gain a more complete understanding of the mission, goals and objectives of Cuyahoga Community College
• Feel a greater sense of belonging to the College community and gain insights into the formal and informal cultures of the academic department, faculty, student affairs and the College
• Receive individual support and encouragement in developing more effective teaching methods, using contemporary instructional technologies, and balancing life, work and family responsibilities
• Provide a more rewarding learning or counseling experience for their students
• Know how to access department, campus and College resources to support classroom instruction and the counseling experience

Specific to counseling faculty:

• Receive support and guidance in understanding the curriculum, policy and procedures that govern the awarding of certificates and degrees
• Become proficient in the use of College technology to assist students in their decision-making process
• Provide students with a connection to the College, its resources and foster a positive experience with setting goals and deciding on a major and career

Mentor Benefits
It is expected that mentors will:

• Benefit from the new instructors' community-based perceptions of our students and graduates
• Gain satisfaction in assisting in the development of faculty peers
• Learn from the new faculty about the world of work outside of academia
• Gain a perspective on the general expectations of an educated citizenry
• Be willing to consider techniques or approaches that new faculty might bring to their students

Overall, it is hoped that both parties in the mentoring relationship will be stimulated to rethink and discuss pedagogical and philosophical issues that will improve the teaching/learning process.

Prior to the beginning of each semester, each dean (or their designee) will ask experienced full-time tenured/tenure-track faculty in the appropriate academic areas to act as mentors for one to three new faculty members. The dean will coordinate these requests with the faculty mentoring campus coordinators.

Tenure Track Faculty

• Mentored for academic year (fall and spring semester).
• Mentors are compensated with 0.5 ESUs per mentee, per semester for up to three mentees.

Adjunct Faculty and Lecturers

• Mentored for one semester. However, if special circumstances apply, the dean may approve an additional semester of mentoring.
• Mentors are compensated based on the mentee's prior level teaching experience. Mentors will earn three service credits if the mentee does have prior college level experience or 0.5 ESUs at the part-time rate if the mentee does not have prior college level experience. TAs or GAs who were teachers of record are considered to have taught at the college level.

Notes

• In the case where faculty mentor workloads are maxed, faculty may elect to receive Service Credits, not to exceed six per semester or nine per academic year.
• Faculty mentors may have a maximum of three mentoring relationships per academic year.
• The first meeting should occur prior to the beginning of classes (whenever practical) and at least twice during the semester at a time and location convenient to both participants.

*Mentors who max out on ESUs may elect to receive Service Credits (not to exceed 6 per semester/9 per AY).

For counseling faculty, the meetings should also cover:

• Certificate and degree requirements
• Transfer information
• Enrollment procedures and processing
• New Student Orientation and First Year Experience (FYE)
• Career counseling

It is important for the dean or their designee and the faculty mentoring campus coordinators to pair experienced full-time faculty with new faculty mentees in the same discipline or one that is closely aligned. At the same time, the Faculty Mentoring Program recognizes that such pairings are not always possible since a sufficient number of full-time faculty may not exist in certain disciplines. As a matter of fact, in some instances the mentor and mentee might not be on the same campus or at the same teaching site. This is particularly true when a new adjunct has exclusively online or off-campus assignments.

In such a case, mentoring assignments should be coordinated through the dean's office in conjunction with the faculty mentoring campus coordinator. Care must also be taken to assure that the logistical arrangements for meetings are in fact feasible for each party prior to making and accepting the mentoring assignment.

Reassigned Time Process

The faculty mentoring campus coordinator, in cooperation with associate and assistant deans, will submit the names of each full-time faculty mentor and potential mentee to the Academic Professional Development office at the beginning of each semester. The following procedure will ensure that the tracking and approval of reassigned time is accurate and current:

• Faculty mentoring campus coordinators will communicate with all deans or their designees concerning mentoring matches.
• All mentor assignments will be made in coordination with the faculty mentoring campus coordinators, who will send their lists to the Academic Professional Development office. No faculty member may mentor more than three faculty for a maximum of 1.5 ESUs per semester and a maximum of 3.0 ESUs per academic year. Any ESUs earned during summer session will be paid at the part-time rate.
• Faculty mentors and their respective administrative coordinator will be responsible for completing and submitting the reassigned time form for their mentoring ESUs as soon as the assignment has been made.
• The Academic Professional Development office will confirm assignments with appropriate dean offices.
• If a faculty member is earning service credits, they should coordinate with their deans and mentoring coordinators.
• Any changes made throughout the semester to the mentoring assignments or compensation must be communicated to the faculty mentoring campus coordinator.

1. Orientation to campus and academic area
2. Official course outline, its purpose, and the need to follow College policy to provide clarity for faculty members and students
3. Course prerequisites and program semester sequence (if applicable) to make sure students are properly enrolled
4. Syllabus form and function, including the College syllabus template
5. Textbooks and handouts to be used, including understanding how much material is to be covered during the course of the semester 
6. Expected tests, term papers, quizzes, and other methods of student evaluation 
7. Grading and academic standards, including due dates, incompletes, withdrawals, never attended, withdrawal-fail and student understanding of grading practices 
8. Classroom management techniques, including handling questions, disruptions, emergencies and student complaints 
9. Use of instructional technologies with emphasis on what is available and how to acquire resources for classroom use 
10. Current developments in the discipline 
11. Community, transfer and on-the-job expectations of our students and graduates 
12. Library resources and how to use them, including interlibrary loan, OhioLINK, database searches, book requisition and internet access through the libraries of each campus 
13. Information regarding campus and College resources for student referrals 
14. College and community events of interest and faculty in the discipline 
15. Placement testing and tutoring services 
16. Professional Development initiatives and opportunities 
17. Tenure Portfolio 

Click this link for meeting topic checklist with links to available resources for both mentors and mentees.

It is expected that each faculty member will enter into the mentor-mentee relationship with a high degree of collegiality, professionalism and open-mindedness toward mutual learning. In addition to the three scheduled meetings, it is expected that each faculty participant will also be available for
informal consultation (e.g., a quick question by phone). As noted previously, participants often visit each other’s classes to observe teaching styles and techniques, make suggestions for improvement or to offer assistance in other ways.

Both the mentor and the mentee will complete an evaluation at the end of each semester to provide any feedback about the mentoring experience. These surveys will be sent via Tri-C email for electronic submission. The results will be used as a component of the overall program evaluation but will not be used to evaluate the performance of individual faculty members.

Associate Vice President and Director, Academic Professional Development

The Associate Vice President and Director are responsible for responsible for the overall administration and coordination of the Faculty Mentoring Program.

This includes:

• Working closely with the deans and campus presidents to ensure that they understand the importance of the program and have assigned appropriate full-time faculty to work with the faculty mentoring campus coordinators
• Gathering survey feedback on the program

Deans

The associate deans or their designees are responsible for identifying full-time faculty members who are willing to serve as mentors for new full-time and adjunct faculty members. The assignment of mentors to mentees shall be done in collaboration with the faculty mentoring campus coordinator on each campus.

Other responsibilities include:

• Assigning faculty mentors prior to the beginning of the semester whenever possible
• Collaborating with the faculty mentoring campus coordinator to make sure that an accurate list of faculty mentor and mentee pairings is submitted to the Academic Professional Development office by the end of the second week of the semester
• The associate deans and their respective administrative coordinators initiate and process the reassign time forms for mentors

One experienced mentor from each campus who has demonstrated exceptional interest and skill in the mentoring process has been chosen as the faculty mentoring campus coordinator and will conduct orientation and/or training sessions as needed for new mentors. Each coordinator will also serve in a consultation role with faculty mentors.

The following content areas may be addressed with the mentoring coordinators:

• Faculty Mentoring Program Handbook
• Methods and content to be addressed with each mentee
• Expectations of the mentor-mentee relationship
  1. Establish rapport
  2. Overcome resistance
  3. Encourage independence
  4. Consult informally
• Completion of appropriate forms and evaluations
• Other issues and questions as they arise

Can a dean, program manager/director or other staff member serve as a faculty mentor?

No, due to the nature of the mentoring relationship, the content covered, and compensation only full-time tenured or tenure track faculty members can serve as a faculty mentor.

Can professor emeriti serve as faculty mentors?

No, the role of a faculty emeritus does not include mentoring faculty. They may informally mentor, but are not eligible to serve and be compensated for the faculty mentoring program.

Can adjunct faculty mentor?

No, since adjuncts are contingent employees it is not guaranteed they will be available to mentor each semester or have a course assignment. While adjuncts may be familiar with course content and aspects of the department or college, they may not have the same experience level as full-time faculty in terms of contractual faculty information, college policies, procedures, curriculum changes, etc. In addition, adjuncts are not eligible to receive Service Credits or ESUs as compensation for this assignment. Mentoring is not eligible to be applied towards Stipend Eligible Units (SEUs) for the Adjunct Stipend Program.

Can mentors exceed their max course load to serve as mentor?

No, full-time faculty cannot exceed their max load for mentoring assignment.  

Can a dean request that a mentor be assigned outside of the department/discipline even though there are plenty of full-time faculty able to mentor in the department?

Mentors and mentees should be paired within their discipline and same campus due to the nature of curriculum questions, department specific information, etc. There are some rare occasions when there are no tenured/tenure track faculty available within that discipline or campus to mentor. This could happen when faculty are out on PIL, at their max ESU load,  or in smaller disciplines. The effort should be made to pair the faculty within the discipline first. If there are no viable options, then the associate dean could suggest faculty in other closely related disciplines or a mentor from another campus could also be considered.