Guild to Faculty Mentored Research at Monmouth College

Introduction and Rationale

The mentoring of undergraduate research students is one of the most important obligations of a faculty member. Faculty mentored research is a practitioner-apprentice relationship, and by its nature, requires significant interaction between them. The student and faculty mentor must work together to develop a relationship that fosters freedom of inquiry, critical evaluations, and personal and professional integrity. It is advised that students take the initiative to build a strong relationship based on mutual trust and respect, as well as strive for the excellence in all areas of research in order to provide specific content to be used in letters of recommendation. While the nature of mentoring relationships can vary widely, the following guidelines are the minimal requirements for effective mentoring of research students.

Active Goals

• Teach an approach and methodology for scientific investigation.

• Develop a sense of what questions are technically able to be answered and have important answers.

• Transmit a history of ideas in a discipline including identification of major contributions and contributors.

• Encourage the development of the ability to evaluate critically the quality of one’s own and others’ research.

• Provide an ethical framework for the conduct of research and dealing with collaborations.

• Enhance the development of oral and written communication skills.

• Facilitate entrance into the research community in the discipline.

Responsibilities of Research Student

Research students have certain responsibilities that will enhance their mentoring relationships and research experience. The following are the minimal requirements:

1. Students must have a commitment to the work of the laboratory to the achievement of their research goals. They are expected to develop a sense of responsibility for the use of the public resources that are made available to them.

2. Students must recognize that much of contemporary science involves team effort and collaborative interactions that require them to conduct themselves in a mature, professional, and civil manner in all interactions. Students must recognize that they work within a laboratory environment and be good citizens by contributing to the maintenance of shared resources and a clean and safe work area.

3. Students should have clearly defined work hours. Formal interactions should occur weekly to discuss research findings with the discussion of career goals always on the agenda. Students have the responsibility to develop their training and career goals and will need to communicate these goals clearly to their mentor so that together they can tailor education and training objectives to meet those goals.

4. Students are encouraged to identify one or more mentors in addition to their immediate supervisor. Such mentors will facilitate the professional networking that is key to advancement of their career goals.

5. Students must be aware of the legal and ethical aspects and responsibilities that underlie their research. They need to develop an understanding of the behaviors that are considered ethical and unethical within the scientific community. They must exercise the highest integrity in collecting, analyzing, and presenting research data.

6. Students should make their satisfactions, dissatisfactions, and needs known to their mentor clearly and often. They should feel comfortable about discussing concerns with the dept chair when necessary.

Responsibilities of Mentors

Research mentors have certain responsibilities that will enhance their student mentoring and research outcomes. The following are the minimal requirements:

1. The mentor must be readily available to the student to answer questions about research and discuss results and future research directions; this requirement involves meeting in person with the student as needed.

2. The mentor must work closely with the student in the preparation of oral presentations of the research and the preparation of papers and abstracts describing the work.

3. The mentor should advise the student about the best forum in which to present the research work. When attending meetings together, the mentor should strive to introduce the trainee to important contributors to the research field.

4. The mentor must provide the student with an oral and/or written assessment of the trainee’s progress, strengths, and areas requiring improvement.

5. The mentor shall assist the student in identifying and securing additional research opportunities during the summer months.

6. The mentor will assist the student in exploring career paths, which includes writing letter of recommendation.

Assessment, Semester Research Grades and End-of-Term Reports

Research grades are a bit subjective. Research advisors have made general observation over the semester related to the number of hours students spend in the lab, the efforts put forth by the student during the semester, the overall research progress, and the overall commitment made by the student to advance the research agenda.

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End-of-Term reports need to be completed each semester and should include the following: 1. Research: Past year’s achievements & future goals 2. Career: Long-term career plans; past year’s training & future goals 3. Mentorship: a. development of relationship with second mentor; b. efforts to mentor someone else 4. Expectations: a. Productivity b. Effort c. Creativity d. Reliability e. Cooperation/team effort within lab f. List of research presentations, including attendance at scientific meetings

Appropriate progress in carrying out the project is a responsibility of the trainee, in keeping with the advice of the mentor and other advisors. Inadequate performance in carrying out any or all of the parameters above can, in extreme cases, be judged to be grounds for dismissal from the training program. Mentors who find that a trainee is underperforming to such a degree shall bring this matter to the attention of their Lab or Branch Chief, and –if need be—to the attention of the Scientific Director or the Training Director. Every effort shall be made to devise a corrective plan to improve the trainee’s performance. In a case where dismissal is to be the course of action, then a trainee shall be given twelve months’ advance notice of the dismissal. This notice shall be in the form of a written letter, signed and acknowledged by both the mentor and the trainee. Exceptions to the one-year rule consist of scientific misconduct and other types of research malfeasance. In these cases dismissal may be carried out promptly. Review and appeals processes in place for NIH employees apply to trainees as well. Full details regarding this policy may be found on p. 28 of the 2012 NIH Postdoc Handbook.