Team Based Mentoring
Students are being mentored in a myriad of ways on campus, but the way that is seen and known is the independent study relationship between students and advisors. Expanding the definition of mentoring to encompass the entirety of the residential experience at the College of Wooster and elevating all of the other ways that mentoring is happening on campus for students is our focus in all areas of student engagement outside of the classroom right now. The long-term goal is to engage mentoring involving peers, faculty, staff and alumni throughout all four years of the student experience.
Based on a developmental advising framework, themes for each of the four years has been developed.First-year: Explore, Sophomore: Investigate, Junior: Immerse, Senior: Launch. Because the first-year and Senior year have established programs, the areas in development right now are the Sophomore and Junior year.
In 2020, we piloted the .25 credit Life by Design course targeted toward sophomores. Goals included a team approach with a faculty, staff and student leading each section, giving sophomores a way to identify their support across the College, navigate Wooster more effectively and explore possible professional areas of interest by connecting with alumni.