The Importance of Mentoring: Ensuring Success as an Online Graduate Student

Language evolves over time, and words and meanings we understand as commonplace now can sometimes be traced back thousands of years. Take the word "mentor." Today's business world places great emphasis on the importance of mentors and mentorship in career achievement, but it's hardly a new idea. In fact, it goes all the way back to Greek mythology.

In the Greek tales, Mentor was a trusted counselor to Odysseus, who put him in charge of his household while Odysseus went off for 10 years to fight the Trojan War (and come up with a nifty idea for a wooden horse). During Odysseus' absence, Athena, the goddess of wisdom, took on the guise of Mentor so she could better guide Odysseus' son Telemachus through some pretty hairy situations. It was Athena's wisdom and role as a counselor that launched the concept of mentorship that has become so familiar to us today.

We may not be dealing with mythological challenges or the wisdom of Greek goddesses now, but the importance of mentoring has not diminished over time. Today, the word mentor has become synonymous with having a wise and trusted counselor to turn to for advice, support and knowledge.

Building supportive and productive mentor relationships takes time and work. Building and maintaining these relationships online, something that has become common with the increase in remote work and online learning, can be extra challenging. If the thought of studying for an online master's degree program feels a little isolating, you'll want to find a university that prioritizes relationship building and the importance of mentoring across all its programs.

Learning online doesn't mean working in isolation. Kara Lasater, an assistant professor of educational leadership at the University of Arkansas and an alumnus of the educational leadership program in which she now teaches, has a unique insight into the school's online program. Lasater explains that human relationships are key differentiators between the University of Arkansas online master's degree program in educational leadership and other online programs.

"We strive to provide a relationship-centered experience for our students while still maintaining the flexibility and accessibility that are the greatest benefits of online learning," says Lasater. "When students graduate from our program, they feel like they know us, and we know them and their cohort members. I think that's been a shift I've seen since my involvement in online education."

Building those relationships is something that Lasater can see from both sides.

"I understand what it is like as a student to go through an online program," says Lasater. "Then, as a faculty member, I certainly understand what it is we're hoping to accomplish in our programs in addition to just teaching."

A Rigorous and Effective Online Learning Experience

Lasater highlights the "rigorous experience" students can expect from the online master's degree program in educational leadership.

"I think it's important to remember that online programs are as diverse as face-to-face programs," says Lasater. "Not all online programs are created the same, and they don't all operate the same."

While Lasater explains that her faculty colleagues have individual teaching styles, they all provide a synchronous learning experience within the online program.

"For many of us, we meet weekly in class, just like we would meet in a traditional face-to-face program," says Lasater. "We feel a synchronous component is a critical and unique aspect of being involved in our program. Our students actually get to know their professors, and if they have questions, they know who to go to."

This approach also helps students build social networks with their peers.

"It's not just about learning from us," says Lasater. "It's also about learning in social contexts with their peers. We feel like that's an essential part of online learning. So, we've embedded a synchronous component in all of our courses."

 

The Importance of Mentoring for Online Students

According to Lasater, mentoring for online students often takes two different forms.

"There's the traditional professor/student or mentor/mentee relationship," says Lasater. "That can be a personalized experience either within the confines of coursework or across a student's entire program of online study."

Lasater also highlights the emergence of peer-to-peer mentoring.

"We're really beginning to recognize the power of peer mentoring that can happen in online environments," says Lasater. "This is particularly powerful when there is an intentionality to support each other in creating this online community."

Lasater explains faculty encourage their students to cultivate these networks while at the same time respecting these student spaces and, as faculty members, remaining outside the peer network themselves.

"This allows students to have some autonomy and agency in terms of what that network ends up looking like," says Lasater. "We have some cohorts of students who have taken the reins and have group chats where they discuss the course and school-related issues. This allows them to shape what that group looks like for themselves in ways that are meaningful to them. So, in many ways, that can be a safe space that's outside of faculty control."

Encouraging students to engage across multiple touchpoints is essential because a lack of engagement with mentors and peers can be an indication that all is not well.

"When you come to graduate school, you usually have a lot of competing interests," says Lasater. "If a person decides to continue their studies amidst all of the other things that are going on, they tend to be fairly invested. So, when we don't see them online or they have their camera turned off, that's usually a signal to me that something's going on."

This highlights one of the most crucial aspects of mentoring – reading the signals and knowing when to act on them.

"It could be the reality of this person having worked a long week and now coming to class and they might just be exhausted," says Lasater. "That's often a time when mentorship becomes really important because it tends to signal a need to reach out and ensure that those students receive the support they need to succeed."

Lasater explains that there is no "one-size-fits-all" solution for helping students balance their professional and personal lives with their studies.

"I think flexibility is key," says Lasater. "It's key for us as faculty members to recognize that. We may have these plans in place and predesigned timelines for the content we should cover, but there are times when we have to recognize that that's not really where our students' needs are in that moment."

Sometimes, the need for flexibility is highly individualized.

"Recognizing that this person is experiencing a particular life event and they cannot just hit the pause button is important," says Lasater. "The technology we use to teach online is really helpful in that respect. For example, if students can't attend a particular class, they can go back and watch the recordings."

The technology also allows students to plan ahead better.

"An online teaching platform like Blackboard helps our students see what's expected over the course of the semester," says Lasater. "This enables them to recognize when they are going to have these busier weeks, both academically and professionally, and plan ahead."

 

Workplace Mentors

Not all mentoring takes place in the university environment.

According to Lasater, a lot of mentoring occurs in a graduate student's workplace or during internships.

Having a mentor in the workplace is beneficial because many of these onsite mentors have a clear understanding of the pressures their colleagues are facing professionally and academically while studying for their graduate education. In addition, many mentors have firsthand experience of the program and understand the challenges their mentees face.

"These onsite mentors work in collaboration with the faculty and students," says Lasater. "It's almost like a triad in terms of mentorship where students have an onsite mentor providing guidance to complement the faculty and peer-to-peer mentorship students receive."

 

How To Find a Mentor

Lasater explains that there are formal and informal methods of connecting mentees with mentors.

"There are formal ways, like the designation of onsite mentors by a faculty member who oversees all of our internship experiences," says Lasater. "It also happens more informally, through dialogue and conversations with students. For example, we might reach out to our students to create a relationship or vice versa. This allows us to create an informal mentorship network which is maintained across their coursework."

What Makes a Good Mentor?

Lasater cites compassion as a vital characteristic of a good mentor.

"It's important that mentors are caring and compassionate," says Lasater. "That doesn't just mean that they are compassionate in terms of supporting students from an academic and professional standpoint. It's really about caring for them as holistic human beings and recognizing them in the entirety of their experience."

A dose of humility is also necessary.

"Students need to know that mentors are accessible to them," says Lasater. "The reason that you are in the mentorship role is that you have knowledge that a student is seeking. While having that knowledge is certainly important, having a level of humility and a genuine desire to work with students are equally important. Mentors need to be accessible and approach that relationship from a place of humility."

It's also important to consider that mentors can benefit from the experience.

"Viewing the mentorship relationship as reciprocal is important," says Lasater. "Both parties should recognize that they support each other and that there is a level of curiosity that unites them."

Trust is essential in any mentoring relationship.

"Trust is the foundation of every relationship, mentorship included," says Lasater. "Cultivating trust takes time. It also takes opportunities to be present with each other and to be a part of each other's lives to have conversations. We can't think that trust is built on its own. We have to cultivate that relationship."

Lasater explains that trust is often cultivated on a foundation of vulnerability.

"Both parties have to be willing to say to the other person that they don't have all the answers," says Lasater. "But I'm willing to walk with you as we try and navigate these challenges in front of us. So, vulnerability is a key part on both sides of the relationship."

 

Setting Ground Rules – and Making Graduate School Fun

It's important to establish ground rules for mentorship to succeed. One of them is setting realistic expectations at the start of the relationship.

"Mentors will want to let their mentees understand how and when they can be contacted," says Lasater. "Obviously, they only have a set amount of time they can dedicate to mentoring."

In the best mentor/mentee relationships, there are boundaries, and boundaries are part of a good relationship.

"These are mutually agreed-upon boundaries," says Lasater. "It's not just a mentor dictating to the mentee. It's really about establishing these boundaries together."

With boundaries set and relationships formed, graduate students can progress into what should be a "transformative and joyous experience."

"I always say that graduate school should be fun," says Lasater. "It should challenge and invigorate you in new ways. It's just – it's so powerful. But a lot of having that transformative, joyous experience is dependent on how much you put into it."

Studying in an online program means taking the time to fully understand what tools are available to maximize this experience.

"It requires the student to make that investment in the technology and tools that facilitate their learning experience," says Lasater. "Nobody else can do that for you."

Lasater has some sage advice for succeeding in online education.

"My advice is to try and maximize the experience in front of you," says Lasater. "This means being willing to speak up about what the student wants to accomplish and what support they need to make that happen. If you're willing to do those things, you're going to be successful in an online experience."

 

Why Should Students Consider Studying at the University of Arkansas ONLINE?

According to Lasater, one of the most compelling reasons students should consider completing a master's degree in the educational leadership program is the relationships they establish while studying at the U of A.

"The faculty in our program are extremely knowledgeable," says Lasater. "They're my colleagues now, but I still look at them as my mentors. Our faculty care about students in really unparalleled ways. This isn't just about academic prowess. They want their students to succeed in all of their life's endeavors."

Lasater draws on her own experience to highlight how these relationships develop over time.

"I certainly consider some of my mentors while I was studying in the program as my mentors today," says Lasater. "I still go to them for guidance. But, of course, the guidance is different now. It's guidance regarding academia and understanding how to navigate this realm. But absolutely, they're still providing that mentorship for me."

 

Learn More About Online Graduate Education

To discover the wide range of graduate programs available at the University of Arkansas ONLINE and experience how mentoring can help you build on your success as an online student, visit the online master's degree programs page on our website.

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Qualities of a good mentor:

• Compassion
• Humility
• Trust

Source: Kara Lasater