Developing a Mentoring Plan for New Faculty

Transcription

1 Develping a Mentring Plan fr New Faculty Mentring prvides new faculty with an explicit cnnectin t mre senir faculty members t prvide guidance, advice, and scializatin t the new department and institutin (Tierney & Bensimn, 1996). Mentring ffers rle mdels fr new faculty, wh learn by simply watching the behavir f the mre senir faculty. Mentring ffers infrmatin transmissin, wherein senir faculty share tricks f the trade and strategies fr success with new faculty. Mentring establishes infrmal relatinships that may ffer pprtunities t cllabrate, netwrk, and feel mre cmfrtable in and satisfied with the hme unit (Crsn & McGldrick, 2007). Mentring creates pprtunities fr junir faculty t realize their wn ptential. Arranging Mentring in Yur Unit Mentring relatinships can be arranged in pairs (new faculty member with senir faculty member) r in grups (new faculty member with several senir faculty members). A grup mentring frmat may allw fr mre flexibility f mentrs schedules and will allw fr certain individuals t fcus n particular areas f strength (teaching, research, service, university plitics, etc.), with the gal f creating a mentring msaic. Search cmmittee chairs can als be enlisted t assist in matching mentrs with new faculty, given their familiarity with the new faculty member. T best determine new faculty members needs, a questinnaire can be prvided: Please describe in a few sentences yur research interests. Please describe in a few sentences the kinds f teaching yu d r expect t d (i.e., lectures, seminars, labs, graduate advising, etc.). Please state 3 areas where yu feel a mentr culd help yu. Please state any preferences yu might have regarding yur ptential mentr (i.e., gender, race, emeritus vs. current faculty, etc.). D yu desire a mentr inside r utside yur department? Interdisciplinary mentrs? Similarly, senir faculty members can be prvided a questinnaire: Please describe in a few sentences yur research interests. Please describe in a few sentences the kinds f teaching yu d (i.e., lectures, seminars, labs, graduate advising, etc.). Please describe yur particular strengths as a mentr (e.g., teaching techniques, time management, netwrking with ther faculty, etc.). Hw available can yu be t yur prtégé? This dcument was prepared by the ADVANCE Rising Tide Center with supprt frm the Natinal Science Fundatin, Grant #

2 Structuring the Mentring Relatinship Mentrs and prtégés shuld be expected t meet n a regular basis; we suggest mnthly but certainly n less than nce per semester. Given the circumstances f many faculty members, mentring meetings can als take place using distance technlgy. The department chair shuld be charged with ensuring that the mentring relatinship is frmalized. Relatinships shuld be established fr the first tw years f the new faculty s appintment at a minimum. Mentrs and prtégés shuld be prvided with evaluatins at the end f each semester t determine hw the relatinship is prgressing and if additinal assistance is required. These evaluatins can be reviewed cnfidentially by the Chair/Directr. A simple nline questinnaire might include: Hw ften d yu and yur mentr/prtégé meet? D yu feel these meetings are sufficient? Hw has yur mentr assisted yu? (Fr prtégés) What ther areas f assistance d yu still require? (Fr mentrs) What areas f assistance d yu require? Any resurces r infrmatin that wuld help yu be a better mentr? Mentrs and departments shuld encurage new faculty t cnnect with existing resurces, such as: Teaching and assessment infrmatin thrugh CETA wrkshps Time management, wrk life balance, and netwrking strategies thrugh Rising Tide wrkshps Technlgical assistance thrugh the Faculty Develpment Center and Fgler Library wrkshps Supprt with persnal prfessinal issues thrugh the Emplyee Assistance Prgram r ther departments r ffices D we want t mentin the ADVANCE Liaisn smewhere here as a resurce? The mentring relatinship will fcus bth n shrt term issues (Hw d I pst grades n MaineStreet? Hw d I deal with an incidence f plagiarism?) as well as lng term (Hw d I achieve tenure? Hw d I articulate my research agenda? Hw d I achieve wrk life balance?) Many mentring relatinships will fcus largely n the tenure prmtin prcess. Mentrs shuld prvide a cpy f the Peer Cmmittee guidelines (if nt already This dcument was prepared by the ADVANCE Rising Tide Center with supprt frm the Natinal Science Fundatin, Grant #

3 prvided) and discuss the prcedures and guidelines in detail with the new faculty member Mentrs can prvide sample letters frm past successful annual reviews and tenure packets Mentrs can meet mnthly with the new faculty member t discuss his/her CV and prvide feedback in relatin t the prmtin tenure expectatins f the unit Mentrs shuld als cnsider the mre implicit expectatins f the tenure prmtin prcess r thse nt generally expressed in writing. Fr example, is the expectatin that the faculty member shuld be in his/her ffice each day? Is there an expectatin that new faculty attend certain cnferences r publish in certain places? See ther examples f pssible questins and cncerns belw Mentrs can als assist new faculty in prviding netwrk cnnectins and ptential cllabrative relatinships Intrduce new faculty t peers with similar research interests n campus and beynd Yu can find details f ther faculty members expertise at UMaine at Mnthly meetings can be infrmal and discussin riented but can als be arranged arund specific tpics and questins, including: Department/unit rganizatin (divisins, cmmittees) Decisin making in the unit and what rle junir faculty play in the prcess Supprt staff in the unit and what are expected f them Cnferences: What travel funding and supprt is available? Hw many papers shuld be presented annually? Hw d yu make the mst f netwrking at prfessinal meetings and cnferences? Publishing: Where shuld new faculty publish? What shuld they publish? Hw much/hw ften? Hw d different kinds f publicatins cunt (i.e., articles, bk chapters, cnference prceedings, etc.)? Is cllabrative wrk encuraged r discuraged? Interdisciplinary wrk? Authrship etiquette: What is expected f pretenure faculty related t authrship? What abut graduate student authrs? Grants: What are the grant expectatins fr pre tenure faculty? What resurces are available fr finding grants, managing budgets? What are unit expectatins fr percent f salary t be cvered by grants? What are different expectatins fr research faculty versus traditinal tenure track faculty? Teaching: What shuld a teaching philsphy statement lk like? Hw is the teaching schedule managed? Shuld new faculty cnsider develping new curses? Hw much time shuld be spent n curse preparatins? Will new faculty receive teaching assistants? What are the expectatins f TAs? What are unit standards fr grading? Hw much freedm in develping curse cntent? Hw is teaching evaluated? Can the mentr bserve teaching? What are sme additinal frms f evaluatin that can be used? What dcumentatin f teaching shuld be kept? This dcument was prepared by the ADVANCE Rising Tide Center with supprt frm the Natinal Science Fundatin, Grant #

4 Advising: Hw much time is expected fr advising undergraduate and graduate students? Hw many is t many? What qualities shuld a new faculty member lk fr in a new graduate student? Hw d yu identify a prblem graduate student? Hw d yu becme graduate faculty? What are the expectatins fr serving as chair r dissertatin advisr, n cmmittees, etc.? Hw d yu write gd recmmendatins? Hw d yu hire pst dcs and supervise them? What are the pay scales fr graduate students? Service: Hw much service is expected? Hw much is t much? Which cmmittees are the best t serve n and which shuld be avided? Hw imprtant is prfessinal service? Which kinds are valued mre? Hw d yu say n? Annual Review: Schedule f annual reviews? What dcumentatin is needed? Hw is the third year review different? When are new faculty infrmed in each review? Hw d yu address inaccuracies in review letters? Tenure: Hw many letters are required frm external reviewers? Wh shuld they be? D yu seek ut yur wn r des the chair/directr? Wh are gd reviewers? What infrmatin shuld be included in a CV? What s t trivial t include? Hw are raises determined? Persnal issues: What are the plicies fr family and persnal leave? Hw d yu stp the clck befre tenure? What supprt is available fr the birth r adptin f a child? What childcare ptins are available? Is it acceptable t wrk at hme? Hw can EAP help? Where d yu g fr help if invlved in a cntrversy r dispute? Mentrs shuld be aware that nt all new faculty will be cmfrtable asking fr help even if they need it. Being aware f and anticipating issues at particular times f the year may assist mentrs in reaching ut t faculty. Fr example: Beginning f year: Ordering bks frm Bkstre, using Blackbard, syllabus frmat and university plicies required n syllabi Mid term: MaineStreet assistance fr mid term grades and final grades End f semester: Dealing with plagiarism and the student cnduct prcess, preparatin fr first year peer cmmittee review, the significance f student evaluatins Additinally, yu might cnsider the fllwing pints: Prvide ne senir faculty mentr within the department and ne utside f it this arrangement may assist in better understanding prmtin tenure expectatins bth within the unit and in the larger cllege Prvide additinal mentring relatinship pprtunities fr faculty with particular interests (e.g., grant writing, cmmunity partnerships) r with particular backgrunds (e.g., internatinal faculty, faculty f clr); hwever, gender f the mentr des nt appear t make a difference in mentring utcmes (Psey, Reimers, & Andrnics, 2007) Implement peer mentring netwrks where newer faculty members (e.g., thse hired in last 6 years) may assist each ther and prvide supprt and advice\ This dcument was prepared by the ADVANCE Rising Tide Center with supprt frm the Natinal Science Fundatin, Grant #

5 Sample Mentring Plan fr Department f XYZ Department XYZ at the University f Maine recgnizes the imprtance f mentring relatinships between new faculty and their mre senir clleagues. New faculty members will be prvided with a brief questinnaire in advance f their first semester asking fr areas f interest and expertise. Senir faculty members wh wish t serve as mentrs will be prvided with a similar questinnaire t best match new faculty and mentr areas f interest and expertise. The department chair/directr will be tasked with matching new faculty members with a mentr (in the department, utside f the department) and/r will be prvided with a mentring cmmittee f senir faculty. Mentrs and their prtégés will be expected t meet at least mnthly t discuss areas f prfessinal develpment, expectatins fr prmtin tenure, and t prvide insight int the department s rganizatin and functining. Tpics fr these meetings may include, but are nt limited t: teaching, research, publicatin, external funding, advising, service, prfessinal assciatin memberships and netwrking, prmtin tenure and annual review criteria, and wrk life balance. The Chair f Department XYZ will send cnfidential evaluatins f the mentring relatinship at the end f each semester in the first tw years f the new faculty member s appintment. These evaluatins will allw fr the Chair t prvide additinal mentring r resurces t bth the new faculty member and the mentr r t prvide alternate mentring shuld the relatinship nt prve fruitful. Shuld a mentring relatinship require disslutin, anther senir faculty member will be matched with the new faculty member using the questinnaire prcess described abve. This dcument was prepared by the ADVANCE Rising Tide Center with supprt frm the Natinal Science Fundatin, Grant #

6 References Crsn, R., & McGldrick, K. (2007). In A. J. Stewart, J. E. Malley & D. LaVaque Manty (Eds.), Transfrming science and engineering: Advancing academic wmen (pp ). Ann Arbr, MI: University f Michigan Press. Psey, E., Reimers, C., & Andrnics, K. (2007). A faculty mentring prgram fr wmen. In A. J. Stewart, J. E. Malley & D. LaVaque Manty (Eds.), Transfrming science and engineering: Advancing academic wmen (pp ). Ann Arbr, MI: University f Michigan Press. Tierney, W. G., & Bensimn, E. M. (1996). Prmtin and tenure: Cmmunity and scializatin in academe. Albany, NY: State University f New Yrk Press. This dcument was prepared by the ADVANCE Rising Tide Center with supprt frm the Natinal Science Fundatin, Grant #