My goal with this blog and with the webcast Academic Transfer in Focus is to let folks around the college know more about the good work that is embedded in our initiatives. I am releasing a new webcast called Faculty Advising for Students. This webcast was filmed several months ago, and some things have changed since then. Nonetheless, the key ideas are the same.
There is much research out there that tells us students are more likely to persist and succeed when they make an early connection with someone on campus – particularly if that early connection is with a faculty member. That is the key idea in our faculty mentoring initiative.
Why aren’t we calling it faculty advising? Because we want this to be about more than what classes to take next semester, or how many classes are left to earn an associate degree.
We want this to be about relationships that matter.
We want this to be about connections around love of a subject and love of the possible career paths that come with studying something you love.
We want this to be about mentoring.
Have you had a mentor? I expect we all have – someone with more experience, someone who has learned some lessons the hard way, someone whose wisdom made the difference for our choices or successes. That’s what we want with this initiative. We want our students to be mentored by faculty who can offer insights into how to navigate college, how to overcome mistakes, and how to focus on the love of learning and the transfer and career goals that can be transformational.
We’ll be providing more information about this initiative in the coming weeks and months, but for now I want you to know that we are moving forward. In Spring 2019 we will have some designated faculty mentors for declared majors in the Liberal Arts, SEM, and Business.
Send good thoughts their way – and say thank you for the mentors who helped you get where you are today.