Mentoring in Higher Education

Mentoring fosters an enduring personal relationship between people to cultivate career knowledge, self-identity and transformation, and social and emotional support among other topics in order to help support a future colleague. It is a process embedded into higher education in order to "enhance the academic development (including development of research skills and a disciplinary identity), professional (career) development, and personal (psychosocial) development of graduate students" (Lunsford et al., 2017, p. 323). This growth can benefit both parties involved in mentoring when it is done purposefully. One reason to encourage mentorship is because of the mutual benefits provided by the relationship. Mentors are needed in order to help students recognize the different expectations of higher education. For example, undergraduate students will usually learn and apply proficiency within a discipline whereas graduate students are expected to challenge and contribute to the knowledge base within the field.