Mentor Rules

Student Mentorship Program

July 2015

Introduction
The student Mentorship Programme is an endeavour of the student
community of the Indian Institute of Technology, Patna to provide a
helping hand to their fellow juniors, assisting them in overcoming their
barriers themselves by providing them the appropriate support and
helping them achieve their true potential.
For this purpose, every entrant will be allotted a mentor right at the beginning of
his/her journey at IITP. These mentors are certain senior students (belonging to final or
pre-final year) who are given the authority to attain the mission of this programme. They
are carefully chosen from the student community with every effort made to ensure that
they
are strong in empathy, interpersonal skills, ethics and capable of being a role model for
the freshmen.They will be the friends, philosophers and guides of the freshers through
this beautiful journey in IIT Patna.
The Student Mentorship Committee (SMC) is the steering body of SMP
which has a primary mandate of helping the freshers feel
empowered. They will keep in touch with the mentors all through the
year, interacting and learning from them about their experiences of
the system.

Objectives of the programme:

The following are the main objectives of the SMP:
1. To welcome and orient the new entrants of the institute and facilitate their
transition into a new environment.
2. Assisting and guiding the students to manage their everyday life at the campus,
helping the students socialize.
3. Helping the students manage their academic activities at IIT Patna.
4. Providing the right guidance on career related issues and helping the students take
informed decisions.

We hope that as we join our hands and collaborate with the force of
Synergy, if our efforts amalgamate into a truly shining institute with
a reputation to envy, and a legacy to be cherished.

Framework of the programme: (to be reviewed)

1. There would be an SMP Committee (strength to be decided) headed by the
members of the 4th year (atleast one from each Department). The Committee is
responsible for keeping track of the programme, hold meetings (if required after
appropriate duration of time) and take into considerations feedback, special
requests of the mentors and mentees whatever so the situation may arise.
2. The current SMP committee shall institute the next committee from the 3rd year
students atleast two months prior to the next academic session.
3. The 4th year students shall mentor the 2nd year mentees, while the 3rd year students
shall mentor the 1st year mentees. (Only for this year, for the Civil and Chemical
Science Engineering students, the 3rd year mentors shall mentor the 2nd year
mentees and the 1st year mentees).
4. The members of the SMP Committee cannot be mentors themselves.
5. The Programme shall be department wise, and the no of mentors should be more
than 10% of the batch strength (ie. For eg. atleast 5 for Mechanical Engg. Dept.
and 3 for Civil Engg. Dept.)
Hence the mentee-mentor ratio never falls below 10:1. (To be changed in that year
when the strength of students in a dept. is increased in the coming years).
6. A minimum CGPA of 6.5 is a must for being a Mentor/ a member of SMC.
7. For year 2015-16,the SMC will be selected by Phd/Mtech.
8. The mentors are selected by an interview conducted bt the members of the SMC
after filling up a Google Doc,an application to be a part of this programme.

Who is a Mentor?

* A knowledgeable and experienced guide who teaches (and learns) through a

commitment to the mutual growth of both mentee and mentor.

* A caring, thoughtful, and humane facilitator who provides access to people, places,
experiences, and resources outside the mentees routine environment.
* A trusted ally, or advocate, who works with (not for) the mentee and on behalf of the
mentees best interests and goals.
Whatever role the mentor may take, his principal goal is to invite and nurture the total
autonomy, freedom, and development of those he mentors.
Dos & Donts
There is a very fine line when you are dealing with something as delicate as mentoring. In
order to highlight the same, here are some analogies to make the subtleties crystal clear in
your minds.
EFFECTIVE
INEFFECTIVE
Advisor
Rescuer
Sounding board, facilitator
Problem fixer, assumes responsibility
Protector
Supports, is a safety net

Bodyguard
Fights mentees battles, overprotective

Coach
Provides structure, gives feedback and
direction

Svengali
Dictates, controls learning

Diamond Cutter
Suggests, polishes rough edges

Mechanic
Wants a quick-fix, insensitive to selfesteem

Broker
Identifies resources, develops

Buck passer
Abdicates, doesnt follow-up

Challenger
Positively provokes, pushes toward
highest standards devils advocate

Adversary
Pushes too far too soon, always plays

Clarifier
Teaches professional values

Minesweeper
Removes obstacles so mentee doesnt have
to deal with them

Effective Skills
OR
Guidelines

Know How to listen - Fully participate in a conversation by being an active listener

and utilizing some simple counseling skills such as reflecting, encouraging and
asking questions. Be aware of how your body language can affect a conversation.

Observe Try to understand what the mentee is actually saying: how they are
thinking and approaching the topic, instead of focusing on how you are perceiving
the conversation. Be aware of how the mentee is presenting the message or ideas
through his/her body language and unspoken words.

Communicate - Be very clear in your presentation of facts and opinions.

Communicate with them in ways that they will understand. Exemplify things to bring
about clarity of thought.

Ask open-ended questions Avoid asking a question with an objective Yes/No

answer, which limits the scope of conversation. For example, compare two questions:
1. Are you studying for the minors?;
Possible Answer:
Yes/No.
2. How is your preparation for your minors going?
Possible Answer: State + Reason(s)
A descriptive answer is more revealing, and hence, more helpful.

Attend and respond to both issue & response (behavioral trends) - Often there
are two things going on at once there is an issue, and the person develops some
kind of response to that issue. Consider this: Im so mad about my MAL test!
Possible Issue: Performance in the test; Response: A
feeling of anger. So, dont
only cater to the issue of improvement in his/her performance, but also his ability to
handle such crisis situations.

Facilitate but dont spoon-feed - Its easy to want to try to solve things for people,
but thats not really as helpful as it might seem. Focus on showing him the right
approach to a problem, rather than leading him to the solution.

Know your resources - You are not a trained counselor. Dont expect yourself to be.
But know your resources (Mentorship Committee, Dean of Students Office, etc.) and
help people make use of those individuals and services. Its OK to say, I dont
know as long as you get the information for the person.
Statements
such as I am certainly willing to help you with you academic work but feel I am
perhaps not the best person to assist you with these difficulties, Im sure it is in
your best interests to get this kind of help from someone who has more experience in
this situation. I can only guess at ways of handling it, Talking to someone at SCS
may help you solve this problem can be helpful.

Keep a track of your mentee(s) performance. Be informed about the mentees

preparation about an activity, say minor exams in a comprehensive manner. Know his
weak points in terms of preparedness, and have a gist of his subject wise knowledge
and preparation plans. o Know your mentees result. That does not mean that you
should note down his marks and memorize them. But know the important parts like
sudden decrements or increments and how to reduce or encourage them through your
feedback.

Assist mentee(s) in accessing academic resources and other relevant

information-If your mentee(s) needs some help with academics, assist him/her in
learning how to access and use available resources e.g. tell him how to use google to
learn something, if extra classes are available in that course, motivate him to go
there. o If there is some serious issue, get in touch with Mentorship Committee
(SMC).
MENTORSHIP RULES
OR
CODE OF CONDUCT
Commit to the relationship and the SMP for one full academic year.
Attend and actively participate in all mentoring training and special events, and in
the long run suggest and execute any idea relevant to the SMP.
Trust and confidentiality are backbone of successful mentoring and must be
maintained at all times.
Be careful about sensitive issues.
A mentees personal life may be difficult to discuss early in the relationship.
Respect the integrity of your mentee and influence him through constructive
feedback. If you have a concern which you believe is beyond your ability to handle,
call the MRC Coordinators even if it is trivial.
On a very rare occasion you may need to inform the mentees parents of any
unacceptable behaviour. Before doing this, get in touch with the MRC Coordinators
and a professor.
All meetings with freshers should happen in open and visible regions and not in
closed rooms.
No illegal drugs should be promoted or consumed within the mentorship activities/
meetings.
No alcohol/ tobacco should be promoted or consumed within the mentorship
activities/ meetings.
Never physically discipline or use abusive language or ultimatums as a tool for
putting your point across.
Any instance of ragging during mentorship activities is strictly forbidden and will be
reported to concerned authorities.
Failure to comply or an outright violation of any of the above may lead to
termination from the SMP for all purposes.

Initial Interactions

You should make a sincere effort to communicate with your mentees with an open heart
and an open mind. But having an open heart and open mind does not guarantee that your
mentee will return your good intentions with the same feelings or with gratitude.
During the initial stages of the programme, your mentee may appear hesitant and
unresponsive to your help. The mentees attitude will take a positive turn over time
and after sincere efforts from your end. Be patient!
In the early stages, a freshman is interested in knowing how sincere and real you
are. Establish a means of communication at the earliest.
Conduct regular mentor meetings during the initial phase (say, twice/thrice a week).
Inform him of all the activities that take place in IIT especially those recommended
for freshmen.
Consider conducting the mentor meetings in the Common Room/ Mess Hall and not
in private, at least during the first month or so. Understand that there is a civilized
timing for this meeting, and it should not extend to late night.
Some important things that should be done are Give your contact details to the mentees and get them to write your details.
Take their contact details and keep a safe record.
Tell them about yourself and some of your good experiences at IITP.
Ask them about their school/coaching institute experiences to get a friendly
atmosphere.
Let them know that they can approach you on campus anytime convenient to both of
you. If possible, decide a common time for regular meetings.
You will find that its a lot easier to mentor some students than others. There will be
differences in personality, attitudes and values. Sometimes these differences will be
obstacles and will seem to get in the way in connecting with a student. But its vital to
remember that just as often, these differences will be an opportunity to learn about others
and about you.

Getting to Know Your Mentees

As you progress throughout the semester, use a variety of methods and activities to get to
know your mentees and build relationships with them. A few ideas on fun (and often
free) things to do with mentees:
Choose a guest lecture or a seminar on some good topic and ask your mentees if
they are interested in attending that with you.
Take them to some good place in Patna.
Do community events together. It's an excellent way to build a closer relationship as
well as help others.
Have a movie night in one of the hostels common areas.
Talk to other mentors about what they are doing with their mentees, and plan to do
things together.

Good Mentorship
The most important thing to remember in any situation is that youre not the supreme
authority. Know your limits; sometimes the best way you can help others is by referring
them to someone else with more experience.
If you are informed that your mentees safety or safety of another is jeopardised,
report this concern to the SMC Coordinators, Hostel Caretaker and Warden or a
professor immediately.
Dont try to be a teacher, parent, therapist or babysitter. Present the information
carefully and without any distortion and give all possibilities and solution a fair
hearing, without passing a judgement. Suggest ways to solve the problem together,
rather than lecture the mentee. Remember: Your role is to respond to the mentees
needs, not impose your agenda.
Dont make judgements concerning a family conflict or heightened situation. Leave
the parenting to the parent.
The suggestion to an individual to seek alternative help must be made in the context
of your concern for the persons well-being. Remember that when a person is feeling
discouraged, distressed or helpless what they want most is to feel understood and
accepted. The first step is to acknowledge their concerns and normalize appropriate
help seeking behavior- I have found (or my friend has found).helpful in this
situation. Talking to a .......................... may help you solve this problem.
Note
Mentoring does not necessarily mean that you must spend huge amounts of time with
your mentee. What mentoring does mean is that you make every effort to ensure that
every contact that you have with your mentees counts that every interaction matters.
Its the quality, not necessarily the quantity, of time that you spend with them.
Mentoring is the cultivation of young adults, the tender caring for and nurturing of them
so that they will grow, flourish, and be fruitful.
Jeff Myers, Cultivate: Forming the Emerging Generation through Life-on-Life
Mentoring