Role of the Faculty Mentor in Non-Traditional Approaches to Education
Dr. David Wong, A.B.M.P.P.

The responsibilities of a faculty mentor are nothing new to cultures; indeed, the pairing, or matching, of a wise and prudent individual, drawing from his or her own life experiences, and sharing same with a so-named mentee has been handed on for generations. Such a process, or relationship, facilitates the lifepath of the mentee, as well as contributing to his/her personal and/or professional development.

At non-traditional universities, which afford the opportunity to mature, accomplished adults to earn their degree, usually through to the doctoral level inclusive, the role of the faculty advisor becomes more of the mentor, or guide, rather than the pedantic instructor/lecturer or tutor. This appellation conveys the message that the mature candidate is entering into a collaborative interaction with his/her advisor or mentor. The student is encouraged to develop and discuss his/her ideas fully with the advisor, who will question the proposal, contents, verify for soundness, rationale, to ensure that, within reason, the proposed course of study, especially the final dissertation or thesis, conforms to accepted academic or scholarly standards. At the same time, a certain degree of flexibility is expected to be exercised, especially for those projects which, on first impression, may not appear to comply with more traditional scholarly expectations.

The mentor does not, figuratively, hand-hold the candidate, except on those occasions when further motivation is required. In contrast to many traditional teachers/lecturers, it becomes the student's responsibility to develop his/her own bibliography, the advisor checking for its pertinence, recency, acceptability, scholarly tonus, etc. The mentor can add suggestions for references or their own, recommend modifications, additions, and act as the principal evaluator. In effect, the mentor draws upon the candidate's own life experience, knowledge, career path achievements, as well as references, to manifest itself in bringing his/her final project to the point of being fructified. Such an approach builds a more enriched, authentic thesis/dissertation, which the graduating student can feel is his/her own. The mentor has been the guide, the wise facilitator, or shaman, and may well emerge also having learned something of incalculable value from the mentee, as he/she segues into becoming a new alumni member.

My own role, as a Senior Associate Professor on the faculty of a non-traditional university, has been one of challenge and contributed to my own intellectual growth or development. It has become an integral part of my role, to engage in, on an individual level, with mature adult candidates completing their degrees, especially at the thesis and dissertation level, usually as either the principal advisor, or external evaluator, as well as oral examiner. My own cognitive processes have become, I would assert, more finely honed as a consequence of discussions, planning dialogues, comments, and input to the candidates. On some occasions, candidate's readings and bibliographic breadth and/or depth may be greater than my own. Conversely, or reciprocally, I would trust that my own academic/professional background will have had a positive effect on the candidate. It is of some pleasure to note that to date, feedback from these students concerning faculty such as myself has been favorable.

The Author: Dr. David Wong, A.B.M.P.P., A.F.N.Z.Ps.S., lives in Richmond, BC, Canada, where he is a practicing registered psychologist, and is a Senior Associate Professor for Senior University International. He earned his Ph.D. at Columbia Pacific University.

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