What is mentoring?

Mentoring--from the Greek word meaning enduring--is defined as a sustained relationship between a youth and an adult. Through continued involvement, the adult offers support, guidance, and assistance as the younger person goes through a difficult period, faces new challenges, or works to correct earlier problems. In particular, where parents are either unavailable or unable to provide responsible guidance for their children, mentors can play a critical role.

The two types of mentoring are natural mentoring and planned mentoring. Natural mentoring occurs through friendship, collegiality, teaching, coaching, and counseling. In contrast, planned mentoring occurs through structured programs in which mentors and participants are selected and matched through formal processes.

How does the mentor/mentee relationship work?

LAMP mentors provide new students with information about campus and commmunity resources, activities, organizations, important dates, and deadlines.  Peer mentors help new students learn how to succeed in their college careers while providing support and encouragement.  Mentors are not expected to be counselors or tutors.  Primary responsibility for participation lies with the mentee.  Your mentor will act as a role model, guide, and friend and answer any questions you may be to shy to ask a counselor or advisor.  Mentors are students, usually completing their first 2 years of college, who do academically well and can teach their mentees the skills to succeed at UTB/TSC.

How are mentors and mentees paired together?

The primary criterion for matching mentors and mentees is academic major; if an identical mojor is not available, the the mentor and mentee will be matched by college or school.  Once matched, participants are notified either by mail or e-mail.

How much contact are we required to have?

The LAMP program requires you meet with your mentee for at least 1/2 hour a week for the first semester of college.  Contact can be by telephone, e-mail or in person.  Matched participants may adjust to fit each other's needs.

Is this a tutoring program?

While your Mentors can provide you with academic advice, the Mentorship Program is not a tutoring program. You should feel free to ask your Mentors about their experiences with classes and professors, and for tips on studying, finals, and class scheduling, but your Mentors are not trained as academic tutors. They can, however, direct you to resources that can help you with specific homework questions, such as the Learning Assistance Center or private tutoring.

Can I withdraw from LAMP if I decide it is not right for me?

We strongly encourage you to remain involved with Mentorship once you are accepted as a mentee. However, if you are not able to remain an active participant, you will need to notify our office as soon as possible. It is very disruptive to your entire group if mentees decide to drop out once the school year has started or leave without notification.

What does the research say on the benefits of mentoring?

Arlene Mark of New York City's I Have a Dream program observed, "We will only know who can be helped or what is the right kind of mentoring, when we try it." (Flaxman and Ascher 1992). Yet while research on the effects of mentoring is scarce, some studies and program evaluations do support positive claims (Flaxman 1992). In an evaluation of Project RAISE, a Baltimore-based mentoring project, McPartland and Nettles (1991) found mentoring had positive affects on school attendance and grades in English but not on promotion rates or standardized test scores. They concluded that positive effects are much more likely when one-on-one mentoring has been strongly implemented. Another evaluation (Cave and Quint 1990) found participants in various mentoring programs had higher levels of college enrollment and higher educational aspirations than nonparticipants receiving comparable amounts of education and job-related services (figure 1).

NOTE: The people in the study were assigned at random to either an experimental group or a control group. Experimentals were eligible for Career Beginnings, which included a mentoring component; controls were excluded from Career Beginnings but were free to participate in other services available in their schools and communities.

SOURCE: Adapted from George Cave and Janet Quint, Career Beginnings Impact Evaluation: Findings from a Program for Disadvantaged High Schools Students (New York: Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation, October 1990). Copyright 1990 by the Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation and used with permission.

Who manages the program?

The LAMP Coordinator, Sergio Martinez does.  He can be reached via email at sergio.martinez3@utb.edu or you can call him at (956) 882-7351.

If your question was not answered or have an idea for another question, please email your comments to sergio.martinez3@utb.edu, and I will post a response to it.  You can also try our blog for more answers to your questions.