The goal of these efforts is to create a culture of mentorship which enables students to regularly engage in dialog with their instructors, advisors or counselors, in which classroom instruction is supplemented by that individual interaction, and through which students develop greater confidence and better skills. Much of what institutions can do to promote mentorship falls within the purview of professional development offices and student services programs and requires their collaboration, and perhaps some redistribution of budgetary resources. That is likely to prove a good investment. This discussion has identified the attributes of good mentors and the characteristics of a mentoring environment, and has suggested some means by which mentorship can be strengthened and promoted. Successfully mentored students transfer that positive experience to successive generations.
Successful mentors benefit by enriching their experience and developing in their professions.
And institutions which provide strong mentorship create the kind of positive experiences which build institutional reputations and enrollments, attract superior faculty, and engender the loyalties of supportive alumni associations. Mentoring makes them better environments in which to learn, teach, and grow. Bibliography Kridel, C., R. Bullough Jr., and P. Shaker, eds . MacIntyre, D. and H. Hagger. David Fulton, 1996.