Global Campus Faculty Mentorship Program

Program Overview 

The mentorship program pairs faculty members who have experience teaching on Global Campus with faculty members who are newer or who would like to build more confidence teaching in the online, asynchronous learning modality. The goals of this program are for faculty to build relationships across disciplines and to provide mutual support in creating opportunities for teacher-to-student and student-to-student engagement in Global Campus courses. 
 
Participants must be able to meet virtually with their partner(s) weekly or biweekly for up to 12 weeks during the summer semester. The mentorship program coordinators will review the applications and will pair the mentors and mentees. Participants will be notified regarding their application status and pairings via email. 
 
We will invite participants to a full group kickoff meeting shortly before the end of the spring semester. Your mentorship relationship should last for at least as long as the course that the mentee is teaching. Throughout the summer, the mentorship program coordinators on the Learning Innovations design team will offer occasional full-group meetings for the purposes of networking and providing additional resources. 

Mentors can apply to a mentorship pool and designate if they have preferred semesters to mentor. We will reach out when we have a potential mentee match available and confirm if you are still interested in mentoring at that time.

Mentor Pool Application
Fall 2024 Mentee Application

Fall 2024 Mentee Applications close: July 12th.

If you are interested in this program but our application window is not currently open, please contact aoi.li@wsu.edu to let us know of your interest. 

What to Expect 

In addition to the opportunity to make a difference in the teaching experience of a newer Global Campus instructor, mentors in this program will benefit by being able to: 

  • Collaborate with a network of faculty and staff across departments. 
  • Develop valuable coaching skills which can help in the pursuit of future leadership positions. 
  • Gain new perspectives on innovative teaching strategies across modalities and disciplines.

Eligibility 

To serve as a mentor, we ask that you have at least one of the following: 

  • Experience teaching at least two classes on Global Campus.  
  • A combination of teaching and course development experience for Global Campus.  

Additionally, we are looking for mentors with experience in at least one of the following areas: 

  • Confidence using Canvas and/or WSU-supported educational technology in innovative ways. 
  • Success facilitating student-to-student engagement in online, asynchronous spaces. 
  • Knowledge of and experience with accessible course design and/or inclusive teaching practices. 
  • Varying assessment structures and using feedback to enhance student learning. 

As a mentee in this program, you will have: 

  • A reliable ally committed to assisting you in navigating the unique context of teaching through Global Campus. 
  • A network of fellow instructors and Global Campus staff to explore innovative teaching practices. 

Eligibility 

To participate as a mentee, we ask that you: 

  • Have taught or developed two or fewer Global Campus courses. 
  • Are scheduled to teach a Global Campus course in the summer of 2024. 

To participate in the mentoring program, mentors and mentees are expected to: 

  • Commit to participating in the mentorship program for at least one academic session and be willing to extend the commitment if an extension is mutually desired.  
  • Develop a meeting schedule that is sufficient to develop a strong mentorship relationship and which accommodates mentor and mentee teaching schedules (ie. Meet biweekly during a 16-week semester, meet weekly during a 6-week summer session). 
  • Be open to having a mentor or mentee who may be teaching in a different discipline; be intentional in discussing strategies for transfer across disciplines. 
  • Attend any group meetings of the Mentoring Program to the best of your ability. 
  • Contact a Mentorship Program Coordinator when needed to discuss teaching strategies, adult learning, strategies for implementing educational technology, course design, Global Campus policies and processes, etc. You may contact a coordinator outside your regular meeting time or invite the coordinator to participate in your scheduled conversations as needed. 
  • Treat the relationship as mutually beneficial, meaning that mentors and mentees will share ongoing interests, challenges, questions, experiences, and suggestions with the understanding that the mentor will likely more often be offering guidance and/or resources; Identify and track how you have addressed each other’s top priorities for the mentoring relationship. 
  • Keep the specifics of conversations confidential from other faculty. 
  • Keep the relationship open and professional. 
  • Tell a mentorship program coordinator if any problems arise in the relationship or if for any reason either party wishes to exit the mentorship relationship. 
  • Agree to complete a survey offering feedback on the program and your experiences. 

The Application Process 

The application is through the form above and will be open until the designated date. The application should take about 5 to 10 minutes to complete.  

Choosing Mentors and Mentees 

Once the application deadline has passed, the applications will be carefully reviewed, and mentors and mentees will be notified that they have been accepted to the program via email.  

Matching Process 

The mentorship program coordinators will review applications and match mentors and mentees based on expertise and interests indicated on the application. In many cases, mentor and mentee pairings will be from different departments. Once matched, the mentorship program coordinators will put mentors and mentees in contact via email, and they can schedule their first meeting at a mutually convenient time.