What is a UV Mentor?
How do I become a UV Mentor?
Does every mentor get a scholarship?
Do I need to complete a scholarship application?
What is required after I am selected as a mentor?
What courses do UV Mentors take?

What is a UV Mentor?

As UV Mentors, we assist students in discovering the personal attributes necessary for a successful education.

We encourage students to develop study habits that will allow them to take responsibility for their education and prepare them for life.

We help students connect to the campus community and find resources that will best meet their needs.

Students need the opportunity to learn from someone who has not just walked in their shoes, but who is in their shoes now; someone who is in touch with the current challenges and demands the students are facing, and someone who has been trained to connect with appropriate resources. Josh Uda, UV Mentor 2005-2006

UV Mentors develop personal leadership and mentoring skills as they work with the instructor and students in Student Success (CLSS 1000) classes.

• They model self-awareness, critical thinking, and commitment to academic standards.
• They demonstrate how Student Success can expand one's understanding of self and others.
• They collaborate with and support the Student Success instructor.
• They contribute in the planning and facilitation of class.
• They actively and enthusiastically participate in class.
• They provide classroom, group, and individual mentoring to the students in Student Success.
• They have FUN!

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How do I become a UV Mentor?

1. Complete Student Success (CLSS 1000) with a B (3.0) grade or above.
2. Complete Leadership Mentoring (CLSS 2200) with a B (3.0) grade or above.
3. Maintain a cumulative Grade Point Average of 3.0 or higher as a full-time student.
4. Complete 12 or more credits at UVSC before applying to the program.
5. Participate in a 15-minute interview (including a 5-minute presentation) with program administrators and UV Mentor team leaders. Interviews are held each year during the second week of April.

A mentor learns more than the students. . . . The program offers a lot of experience in a mentoring relationship whether you are the mentor or the mentee. Darren Tintle, UV Mentor 2005-2006

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Does every mentor get a scholarship?

UV Mentor Scholarship Policy

The UV Mentor program is given a limited number of resident scholarships each semester. In order to accommodate the needs of a growing program, the amount of the scholarship awarded to each mentor will vary depending on the experience he/she has had in the program and the amount of money available.

All mentors who have completed one year in the program and are invited to return will receive a full resident tuition scholarship.

All mentors who are in their first year will receive a minimum award of $1000 dollars. The amount of money available and the number of new mentors in the program will determine the exact amount of this award.

Any mentor who receives a scholarship from another source will receive a $400 cash award to be used for books and fees.

A non-resident student is not guaranteed a scholarship.

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Do I need to complete a scholarship application?

Yes. Submit a Continuing Student Scholarship application online by the deadline. Applications are available at http://www.uvsc.edu/finaid/scholarship/

Being a UV Mentor is a great way to create a system of networking. It's a great way to meet lots of people and make connections. There's also a great opportunity for a scholarship. It really helps ease the stress of paying for school. Samantha Spor, UV Mentor 2005-2006

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What is required after I am selected as a mentor?

1. Become a Master Student - you will be expected to review the topics in Becoming a Master Student in depth and be able to demonstrate their value for other students. Read it, know it, live it!
   
   
2. Participate in summer team building activities - each summer the mentors participate in team building activities. In May, they spend one day at Boot Camp. This activity has traditionally been held at Camp Williams and provides opportunities to work together to complete obstacle courses. In July or August, the group spends 3-4 days involved in a Service Expedition. For the last four years, they have done various service projects for the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming and rafted down the Snake River.
   
   
3. Assist with One Stop and UV Experience - the purpose of a mentor is to help students make the transition to college. The mentors begin by helping new students the week before school begins at One Stop and at UV Experience.
   
   
4. Attend Student Success - each mentor is assigned to a section of Student Success. The mentor is expected to attend the class every day and support the teacher in his/her classroom activities and discussions.
   
   
5. Meet weekly with Student Success instructor - each mentor must set up a weekly meeting time with his/her assigned Student Success instructor.
   
   
6. Complete 10 hours per week - each mentor must track the hours they spend helping students in and out of class. The time they spend in CLSS 2300, CLSS 1000, and in their weekly instructor meetings counts toward their total hours.
   
   

   I spend time to do study groups, talk with the students, take students to and participate with them in campus connecting activities, prepare lessons and presentations for the class, meet with the instructor to decide just how we together can help the class and help the students learn. Jeff Engh, UV Mentor 2005-2006

   
   
   
7. Participate in selected campus activities - a mentor is responsible for helping students to connect to the campus community. The mentor should inform students of all activities on campus, but the program only selects two or three campus activities to support each semester. All mentors are expected to attend these selected activities and invite their Student Success students to attend also.
   
   

   Mentors also help their students connect to campus by attending activities with their students. This is a huge component to retention here at Utah Valley State College. Those students who connect with their campus are more likely to continue going to school here and are less likely to drop out or transfer. Annalee Barney, UV Mentor 2003-2006

   
   
   
8. Attend weekly UV Mentor meeting - Each week all UV Mentors meet to discuss upcoming activities and cover necessary training issues with program administrators and team leaders. This meeting is held Friday mornings at 9:00 am.
   
   
9. Limit outside employment to 20 hours per week - Students who work more than 20 hours a week have not been able to meet the demands of a full-time class load and the requirements of the mentoring program.

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What courses do UV Mentors take?

CLSS 1000
Student Success
(3 credit hours)

Approximately 1,000 students take Student Success each year. The purpose of the class is to help student increase their self-awareness, improve their critical thinking and study skills, and connect to their college campus. Most students have the opportunity to work with a mentor who helps them to achieve these course objectives.

CLSS 2200
Leadership Mentoring I
(3 credit hours)

Before applying to be a UV Mentor, you must take CLSS 2200. This course introduces students to basic concepts of leadership and mentoring and allows them to further develop their own self-awareness, critical thinking, and campus connections.

CLSS 2300
Leadership Mentoring II
(2 credit hours)

Your first semester as a UV Mentor you will enroll in CLSS 2300. This course is designed to hone your skills as a mentor and prepare you for the specific topics covered in CLSS 1000.

CLSS 240R
Leadership Mentoring Practicum
(2 credit hours)

After the first semester, you will enroll in CLSS 240R. This is a practicum designed for accountability and ongoing skills assessment. You will submit weekly reports on WebCT and meet each Friday with the whole group to discuss relevant issues.

The program offers the mentor a chance to practice many of the best strategies proven to succeed in post-secondary school. From that standpoint alone college for the mentor becomes easier and an over-all better experience. Furthermore, serving in any capacity brings a new dynamic to any experience whether college, the workforce, or in the community. With this new dynamic in life, one finds multiple doors opening because of the service rendered and because of the mentor's capacity to see work/service as a potential life benefiting experience rather than "just another thing I have to do." Lastly, the friends made under organizations in which service is the goal, last much longer and become a great network for advice and help in the future. Aaron Olsen, UV Mentor 2004-2006