Do you know why we use the word mentor? When Ulysses went to war, he asked his friend to care for his son's education. Can you guess what his name was? That's right, Mentor. When Telemachus did not follow the advice of Mentor, Athena disguised as him. Mentor/Athena now was a wise man that let Telemachus deploy his talents, abilities, and full potential. Kind of the mentor role, don’t you think?

 

When I attended college, there were no mentorship programs. I was lucky enough to get in touch with a counselor but only during specific work hours. All through my first year, I felt lost. School campus map, notes scribbled in my notebook. I felt trapped in a no-exit alley.

 

Nowadays, mentoring is more accessible. Mentorship programs are blooming at universities, with diverse subjects: from introductory programs for newcomers to developing hard or soft skills. You name it.

How can your university benefit from online mentorship?

I like to call this era " education from anywhere to everyone ". Just as I don't have to go to my office to write this article, caregivers or people with low mobility can stay at home and still receive the finest education. And that concept applies to mentorship programs.

 

Are you still wondering about the benefits? All right, I'll spill the beans right now.

• Accessibility: As I explained a few lines above, meaning anyone can access your mentorship program without being on campus. It works both ways, as the mentor can do it from home or wherever he needs to be at that moment.
• Larger groups or one-on-one: Depending on the specific requirement of the program, your group can be as big as you like or as personalized as you need.
• Quick feedback: We know that some mentors love to go a little further with their mentees and try to answer their questions even if it's not on their schedule. Online learning helps those who go the extra mile.
• Matches made in heaven: Do you know that with mentoring software you can match mentors and mentees together in a way you can be sure that the alliance will work? It helps to reduce the lack of chemistry between mentors and mentees, which translates to failure of the program.
• Total learning experience: Being connected from different states - or even countries - will enrich their culture, benefiting from being exposed to different cultures, practices, or ideas.
• A flexible platform: with discussion boards, assignments, and event calendars.
• Full-digital experience: Taking advantage of connectivity is a must: from webinars to studying material to download. Sometimes the mentees need to skip classes due to a medical appointment or personal problems, which used to be a problem in the past, but no more. Classes can be recorded, giving the ability to watch them for the first time or rewatch it because the subject was unclear to the mentee.

Online mentoring is flourishing

There are a lot of benefits to online education combined with mentoring programs. Whether your student population is big or small, it's all about building a community. Sometimes, there are some bridges to cross to get everyone together. Online mentoring programs help to close the gap for students who want to enroll in these programs but can't go physically to your campus.

 

E-mentoring can track and collect your data to get statistics about the real impact the program is making and make fine adjustments if necessary. Another great point is that you can rely on the automatization of administrative tasks such as sending reminder notes for the next class or due assignments, sending different study materials, etc.

 

As you can see, there are a lot of benefits if your university opens up to an online mentoring program. I'm sure you have some other great ideas you wish to implement for your courses. My proposal is: get in touch with our software factory ASAP. I mean it.

 

At Awkbit, we love to go one step further to please our clients. We believe education has no boundaries and has to be accessible to everyone. We develop different platforms that adjust to your needs so your university can excel in what it does best: provide education. Let's do this together. Drop us a line, and we'll deliver.

 

+1 (786) 321-3247 Mara Destefanis - Marketing

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