Mentoring Work Group

Building on conversations heard at AACRAO meetings and responses to AACRAO Career Profile Surveys, this work group will develop best practices for mentors and mentees alike. These practices will support members in their roles at their respective institutions and as members of the AACRAO professions more broadly.

• Purpose
  Now is an essential time for AACRAO to provide guidance on the meaning and significance of mentorship in these three areas:

  1. Succession planning: The Career Profile Surveys indicate that those in leadership roles in AACRAO professions plan to retire or change positions in the coming years in large numbers; mentoring plays a critical role in the development of future leaders in our professions. 
  2. Member engagement opportunities: Recommendations are needed for AACRAO on best practices that could be implemented and considered in future mentor programming.
  3. Professional development:  Individuals need resources to help them develop mentoring relationships and become excellent mentors and mentees.

   

• Charge

  Building on conversations heard at AACRAO meetings and responses to AACRAO Career Profile Surveys, this work group will develop best practices for mentors and mentees alike. These practices will support members in their roles at their respective institutions and as members of the AACRAO professions more broadly.

• Scope

  The workgroup will engage in the following activities and produce a final report that can be used by all members of the AACRAO community: 

  1. Research: Use existing literature in the field of mentoring to ground the report in established research.
  2. Survey: Identify what benefits members have seen from mentoring and being mentored, through a survey or other means to be determined by the work group. 
  3. Story telling: Collect and present member mentorship stories that demonstrate the impact of mentoring in our professions expanding on Mentorship in Higher Education: Practical Advice and Leadership Theories and connected to the research.
  4. What works/what others do: Gather details from other professional organizations who have developed programming or initiatives related to mentoring (within/outside of the profession, and across institutions/organizations).
  5. Suggested best practices: Provide recommendations to the Board and AACRAO membership on how to be effective mentors/mentees in the AACRAO professions within the following contexts:
     1. within AACRAO 
     2. within regional organizations
     3. at conferences
     4. at individual institution
     5. as personal development
     
     Acknowledging that the issues impacting the number of professionals in the field and that mentoring is only one piece of the career path, other risks, opportunities or areas for exploration and development will likely be identified. Recognizing these may be outside of the scope of this work group, they will be cataloged for further exploration as part of the work product - for review by the AACRAO Board of Directors and Executive Director for further consideration and future opportunities to address.
     
     Development and administration of a formal mentoring program will not be part of this work but will provide the foundational, research based, information needed should the Association choose to deploy mentoring strategies. The work group recognizes mentoring cannot be one-size-fits-all or resolve structural issues within AACRAO professions or higher education overall but is a key component in staff development.