Expectations of Mentors

• Make sure the team establishes a regular meeting time that includes all team members and you and convey this information to the Gemstone staff with one semester’s notice.

• Meet regularly with your entire team for at least one hour per week or two hours every two weeks.

• Offer the team advice and expertise about the substance of their topic and assist the team in making contacts with experts who potentially can be their thesis discussants. Guide the team in exploring the literature related to their research problem and proposed project.

• Assign other significant Gemstone Program milestones a grade for the appropriate semester (consult the Timeline for Team Success). Provide an appropriate weight for these assignments.

• Provide a copy of your syllabus to the Gemstone Associate Director at the beginning of each semester. At the end of each semester, complete the progress report for the pertinent semester and submit it via e-mail to the Gemstone Associate Director.

• Help the team use the Timeline for Team Success to ensure they are setting realistic goals and monitor their progress based on the timeline.

• Hold high standards for the level of work produced by the team and each individual throughout the process. The quality of the Gemstone Program is determined by the quality of the work that you expect from your team. The higher the quality of the Program, the more valuable the citation will be to the team members when they graduate. Don’t hesitate to assign lower grades if students aren’t pulling their weight or the team as a whole is not making progress.

• The Gemstone students, mentors, librarians, and staff are all part of the Gemstone community. Please communicate with the staff when you have questions, when you need assistance, and when you have successes to share. Likewise, please be sensitive to the needs of the Gemstone staff when they request information from you.