Mentoring is a relationship between two people with the goal of professional and personal development. The mentor is usually an experienced individual who shares knowledge, experience, and advice with a less experienced person, or mentee. The primary goal of the Mentoring Program in BMC college is to support the academic development, professional development, and achievement of students. Mentoring serves as a source of personal and professional growth for mentors, as well as, the mentees Mentoring relationships focus on connecting you and your goals with opportunities to succeed. The 2018 Gallup Alumni Survey found that "college graduates are almost two times more likely to be engaged at work if they had a mentor who encouraged them to pursue their goals and dreams."The study also found that college graduates with faculty members who cared about them as a person" benefit from higher levels of wellbeing. Mentoring plays a core role in higher education. A mentor is more than an adviser. A mentor provides you with wisdom, technical knowledge, assistance, support, empathy, and respect throughout, and often beyond, your graduate career. Mentoring helps students understand how their ambitions fit into graduate education, department life, and career choices.
An effective mentoring relationship develops over time. The student benefits from the mentor’s support, skills, wisdom, and coaching. Later, both people deepen their working relationship, perhaps collaborating on projects in which the student develops into a junior colleague. After a while, the mentee may need some separation from the mentor to test his or her own ideas. This distancing is a sign that the mentoring relationship is maturing and providing the mentee with the skills needed to function independently. Finally, both mentee and mentor may redefine their relationship as one of the equals, characterized over time by informal contact and mutual assistance, thus becoming true professional colleagues.
Guiding Principles
Plutarch stated that "The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled" It is this principle that should sit at the heart of mentoring. But metoring program vary widely and can be very complex, requiring considerable training, or very light touch as with many of our "transition in" peer mentoring program. But in all cases the mentor should treat the mentee as the focal point which involves considerable skill. The key principles of being a mentor can be summarised as follows:
- Mentoring should be a structured dialogue where reflection is facilitated by the mentor.
- The mentoring relationship should be based on trust, confidentiality, mutual respect and sensitivity.
- The relationship should be based on agreed boundaries and ground rules that address the power differentials between the mentor and mentee.
- Mentors should seek advice or assistance regarding sustaining and developing the mentoring interaction if needed.
- The mentor should allow the mentee to drive the relationship and encourage them to take increasing responsibility for their own self-reflection and development. There should be no coercion or mentor agenda.
- A mentor should help the mentee identify goals and challenges and set priorities for relevant personal growth.
- Mentors should acknowledge the benefits they gain from the process of mentoring.
- Mentors should seek to use supporting resources that facilitate and sustain the engagement of the mentee.
Objectives of the Policy
BMC is committed to enabling learners to access support mechanisms to meet their academic needs. This mentoring policy applies to all mentors and mentees who take part in the programme. It aims to ensure that learners have the opportunity to work with a mentor who will offer support and guidance on academic issues. Thus, a personal relationship is created for better understanding of the student’s aspiration, strengths and weaknesses. The College is committed to regularly reviewing the effectiveness of the Learner Mentoring Policy and procedures and making adjustments as and when necessary in response to the needs of those involved.
This Policy is underpinned by the following key principles:
- Our learners must be supported to achieve their potential while at College, in an environment where their well-being is fulfilled
- Learners who are at-risk of drop-out will have the opportunity to work with a mentor whose role will be to provide them with additional support in academic issues.
- There is an evaluation process for assessing the effectiveness of mentors and mentoring programs and also for identifying the possible challenges.
- Sharing of mentee Information- In case the mentor leaves, the information about the mentee needs to be shared with the new mentor. There is a handing over form which needs to be signed by both the new and the old mentor.
- All teaching faculty should in present in all FDP programmes towards mentoring skill development
Responsibilities of a Mentor:
- Each student is to be allocated a faculty mentor at the time of admission.
- A mentor will provide support to 25-30mentees.
- The mentors should try to understand their mentees and help their mentees settle well in the new environment.
- The mentor will act as a guide, coach and role model for the trainee.
- The mentor should interact periodically with the trainee to review experience gained and set objectives for the next period
- The mentor will play a critical role in the mentees’ Internship and Placements by helping them prepare for the professional competence programme.\
- All mentors should keep a confidential data sheet about their students which records a report of mentoring done by the teachers.
- These reports should be periodically evaluated by a team of senior teachers and its effectiveness should be monitored by a committee consisting of the Principal, Academic coordinator, Mentoring cell coordinator and the IQAC.
Responsibilities of a Mentee:
- Mentees should be regular and punctual for meetings with the mentor.
- They must adhere to the Mentoring Programme procedures.
- They must attend training as directed by the mentor.
