Understanding the difference between ‘advising’ and ‘mentoring’ – and applying just the right balance of the two – is a key to helping students successfully navigate graduate studies at UNC Charlotte.
Advising is often procedural, focused on policies, courses and in some cases, funding. Mentoring is more personal and includes emotional support, career advice and role modeling to help students through graduate school and their postdoctoral training. Graduate students need both.
Using University policy as a base, consider these important elements of student success:
- Shared Values
- Academic integrity and responsible research
- Respect for others and for their differing view points
- Expectations for professionalism
- Shared Goals
- A completion time line
- Expectation for mastery of the content
- Understanding career goals
- Shared Responsibilities
- Following University policy
- Meeting deadlines
- Communicating openly with one another
For more resources, visit the Graduate School’s Mentoring and Advising site and DegreeWorks for a useful advising tool.
