INTRODUCTION
UTA-HOSTS! (Helping Other Students to Succeed) is a student mentoring program sponsored by the
Leadership Center. New students, or mentees, are matched with returning students, or mentors to build
a mentoring relationship which assists with the transition to college life. Mentors assist mentees to
develop personally and academically by introducing students to the many resources and variety of
learning opportunities offered in the university community.
The program is designed to last two semesters. Participation in the program is free and all positions are
voluntary.
WHAT IS MENTORING?
W HAT A R E T HE R E WA R D S ?
QUALITIES OF A MENTOR
A mentor is most often a person with more
experience, who acts as a :
 Role Model
 Guide
 Friend
 Advisor
 Support System
 Network to others
THE REWARDS OF BEING A MENTOR
The rewards of being a mentor are self-evident:
 Help someone out
 Be a useful, positive influence in another person’s life
 Gain ideas from interactions with mentees
 Develop a sense of pride in seeing a mentee learn, progress and focus on goals
 Make a valuable contribution to the University community
 Develop leadership skills
 Enrich your college experience
 Develop valuable transferable skills used in professional and personal life
Mentoring is human interaction, support, caring and empowerment. It can be a life changing experience. Like any
other relationship, you must put effort into it - keep working on it.
WHAT DOES THE PEER MENTOR POSITION
ENTAIL?
W HAT A R E T HE E X PE C TAT IO N S O F T HE PO S IT IO N ?
THE PEER MENTOR POSITION
The peer mentor is a sophomore, junior or senior student who provides leadership to a
group of new students making the transition to college life. The peer mentoring
program runs from Fall – Spring.
Mentors assist in achieving the goals of the program which are:
 To foster a network of support for first year students
 To aid in the academic, emotional and cultural adjustment of first year students
 To promote leadership skills in the student body
 To encourage the development of student relationships with other students and staff
 To provide consistent, reliable sources of support, information and inspiration
EXPECTATIONS OF MENTORS
 Contact mentee weekly via any method: email, phone, text messaging, face-to-face
contact, (such as meeting in hallways during class, lunch in UC, social events)
 Keep commitments to mentee
 Acquaint your mentee to the UTA life from your perspective
 Monitor mentee’s progress
 Assist in the development of skills necessary for mentees to succeed in college
 Communicate university resources and services to mentee
 Accompany mentee to program activities, if at all possible, such as mixers and other
events
 Complete check-up forms according to program requirements
 Maintain confidentiality in your relationship unless there is a serious concern
 Provide feedback to the program coordinators especially if you are unable to contact
your mentee
 Provide support, guidance, encouragement and information to first year mentees
 Meet 1:1 with mentee(s) each month to talk about goals for the fall semester
BOUNDARIES
 A mentor is not a parent, a professional counselor, a social worker, or an “ATM machine”. If you have any
problems or concerns about communications or behaviors, please contact the UTA-HOSTS!-Staff.
 Termination of a mentor or mentee’s participation in UTA-HOSTS! may occur for several reasons,
including:
 When one of the participants cannot be reached despite repeated tries.
 When a participant is unresponsive to requests to contact or meet and does not give reasons or
appear interested
 When a participant exhibits inappropriate behavior
 When a mentor/mentee withdraws from UTA
 When unexpected personal circumstances arise that prohibit one from participating
 Please do not try to handle any situations you are not prepared for.
PLEASE BE AWARE
If any of these circumstances occur please notify the UTA-HOSTS! Office as soon as
possible and the staff will seek to end the relationship in a positive way. In the
case of participation issues, the UTA-HOSTS! Staff will send an e-mail to the
mentor/mentee prior to termination requesting circumstances that may explain
non-participation. If termination of a participant occurs the other mentor/mentee
will be notified and a rematch can be initiated.
BEFORE YOU MEET YOUR MENTEE
Sit down and give some thought to how you will work with your mentee to achieve a successful experience for both
of you. You are in a good position to offer advice and support.
Develop an action plan. This is a great opportunity for you to continue to develop leadership skills such as goal
development, time management and communication skills. In the appendix to this training manual you will
find tips on these subjects.
Review the appendix section on Resources and Services. Recall your first days in college and information that
would be useful.
Review the chart in the following slides so you will be prepared as the semester progresses to inform and remind
your mentee of important tips.
YOUR FIRST CONTACT
•
You should contact your mentee as soon as possible after you receive match information.
•
Ask your mentee about his/her expectations for the mentoring program.
•
Clearly outline and discuss mentee responsibilities.
•
Compare schedules and determine the means of communication that will work best. Frustration and wasted
time can be avoided by knowledge and understanding of your mentee’s student life.
•
Conditions for the meeting should be comfortable for both parties. It should occur in a public place such as the
University Center where you are both “on familiar territory”.
•
Remember that students will require a lot more help and support the first few weeks.
•
Relax, be yourself, make a new friend.
FIRST SEMESTER TIP CHART
Early Semester
Potential Issues
Questions
Suggestions
Concern about fitting in.
Want and need to develop social ties.
Students living off campus don’t get
involved on campus and need special
encouragement.
What do you like to do with your time?
Are you participating in Residence Hall events?
Encourage them to attend Welcome Week
events.
May not realize importance of attending
class.
Are you attending class? Have you paid your fees
and have financial aid in order? Have you read
each class syllabus?
Let them know that regular class attendance
is very important; can get behind very quickly
and catching up is difficult
May have roommate issues.
Have you talked with your roommate about how
things are going?
Have you completed a roommate agreement?
Encourage them to discuss issues with
roommate or talk to a Residence Assistant
Questions about how to get involved.
What interests do you have? (i.e. sports, art,
music, religious, etc.)
What type of organizations did you join in High
School?
Tell them about Activities Fair Day and attend
with them if possible. Tell them to go to
www.uta.edu/studentgovernance for a list of
more than 300 student organizations.
Students living away from home may start
to get homesick. (can occur the first 2-3
weeks)
Do you miss your family and friends? When do
you plan to go home for a visit? Can any friend
come here to campus to visit you?
Keep in touch, and if possible, meet up with
them.
FIRST SEMESTER TIP CHART
Mid-Semester
Potential Issues
Questions
Suggestions
Start to realize academic demands and
expectations.
Are you taking advantage of extra credit?
Are you using the Library?
Encourage them to talk to their Professors
or Teaching Assistants.
Encounter first round of exams and
assignment deadlines.
Are your class notes complete?
Do you have people to study with for tests?
Join a study group or find a study partner.
Might feel a mid-term slump.
Have you talked with Professors about any
coursework concerns?
Be proactive about their success.
Need to think start thinking ahead to
next semester.
Have you talked with your Academic Advisor?
Do you know how to register for classes for
spring semester?
Tell them to keep in contact with their
advisor.
Tell them procedures for registering if they
need help.
FIRST SEMESTER TIP CHART End of Semester
Potential Issues
Questions
Suggestions
Can be a time of mental and physical
challenge.
Are you completing your required coursework?
Are you keeping current with readings?
Suggest pacing themselves in preparation
for projects, papers and exams.
May lose “balance” by not eating well,
pulling all nighters, not getting exercise.
Are you getting sleep?
Do you have a study schedule?
Encourage getting exercise, sleeping
enough and eating well.
Can have mixed feelings about the
holidays at home.
Are you excited about the break?
How do you feel about being at home with your
family and seeing your friends again?
Talk with them about the fact that it will feel
different returning home after the
independence of the first semester.
May experience anxiety and depression,
so emotional support is important.
Are you feeling down? Have you considered
counseling? (offered individually or in a group
setting)
Encourage them to contact Counseling
Services if experiencing anxiety or
depression.
CREDIT AND SCHOLARSHIPS
 Mentors provide a valuable and much appreciated contribution to UTA. WE ARE PROUD OF YOU and want other
members of the University community to share our pride and appreciation.
 The response rate of check-up forms is one indicator that quantifies program participation. We want you to get
“credit” for your activity as a mentor and important contributor to the university community.
 The UTA-HOSTS! Program offers scholarships that are awarded in the spring semester. Check-up forms must be
submitted in order to qualify for a scholarship.
BEYOND MENTORING: THE LEADERSHIP TEAM AND PROGRAM
COORDINATOR
 The Leadership Team plays a valuable role in the UTA-HOSTS! Program in the following ways: mentor recruitment,
training, program input, publicity, and planning for and assisting at events. Please consider volunteering for this
group.
 The Program Coordinator is a paid position that serves as the coordinator of all UTA Hosts! Programs and aides
with the training and matching of mentors and mentees.
 The position becomes available for application in the spring and begins in the summer of each academic year.
BENEFITS: MENTORING IS MORE THAN
HELPING A PERSON
 College offers endless possibilities for growth intellectually, emotionally and socially.
 We want participation in UTA-HOSTS! to be a meaningful and relevant experience
for both you and your mentee. You can use your mentoring experience to grow as a
person. Many of the skills you use and develop as a mentor are transferable to
many other aspects of your life; these skills are valuable in your professional and
personal life.
These are some skills to focus on during your time as a mentor:
 Self Reflection
 Personal Accountability Goal Setting
 Time management
 Communication
cd
“Reflection is one of the
most underused yet
powerful tools for
success.”
-Richard Carlson
ba
ACCOUNTABILITY
 Becoming a mentor was a choice.
 With choice comes personal accountability.
 With Personal Accountability we ask:
 What can I do to make a difference?
 How can I contribute?
“Not many things are as freeing as
realizing we have the power to
choose”
From Personal Accountability
by John G. Miller
ACCOUNTABILITY
ACCOUNTABLE PEOPLE THINK HARD ABOUT HOW TO MAKE
THINGS BETTER. BEING ACCOUNTABLE EMBRACES :
 Learning
 Service
 Courage
 Excellence
 Ownership
 Ownership
 Creativity
 Trust
 Clarity
 Integrity
Through your active participation as a mentor you contribute not only to
others and the University as a whole but have the opportunity to grow as a
person. Look at the list above, we learn and change when we challenge
ourselves to grow and improve.
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Rapport
 building a rapport with your mentee is important to a successful mentoring relationship. Rapport is established
in two ways, verbally and non-verbally.
TIME MANAGEMENT
 These thoughts about time management cited below are excerpted from Time Management Made Easy by Patty
Marler and Jan Bailey.
 We cannot manage time, we can only manage ourselves.
 Efficient time management is a life choice, a process of stream-lining, an exercise of self-knowledge and
discipline……and no one mentioned it would be easy.
 Needing to evaluate your time management does not mean you are disorganized or lazy.
 There is only so much time in a day. At the end of it all, you need to be happy with what you have done and
what you have become.
 Manage yourself, manage your time. It’s all about choices.
“Dost thou love life? Then do
not squander time, for that’s the
stuff life is made of.
-Benjamin Franklin
GOAL SETTING
Goal setting can be readily applied to the mentor/mentee relationship. Mentoring offers a great opportunity to
hone goal setting skills. When you sit down to develop an action plan prior to your first meeting with your mentee
you may want to proceed by establishing goals for the semester.
RESOURCES ON CAMPUS
University Resources
 When wanting to get help on campus…
Health Services
 A friendly reminder that tuition covers the co-pay costs of seeing a doctor at the health clinic!
Study Abroad
 Every student should try to get to study abroad as a way to take their education to an international level.
UT Arlington Traditions
 Every student should be involved with student traditions!
CONTACT US
E. H. Hereford University Center,
lower level B120 C
Phone: 817-272-6054
E-mail: hosts@uta.edu