Becoming a Scholar Mentor

4-hour per week paid position
As an “add-on secondary position,” students can be a BaS Mentor and hold a
primary student campus job.

The Becoming a Scholar mentor is an upper-level student who serves as a support to the BaS instructor and students in the section. The mentor should be of good character, have a strong academic record (3.0 cumulative GPA), have a student life record free of sanctions, and be an active member of the Bluffton University community.  

Mentors should be supportive of the aims of BaS, helping first-year students understand the importance of this course.  The mentor is to demonstrate professional behavior and must maintain student and instructor privacy.  

This position is a paid stipend position that requires about 4 hours per week. Paid time includes any time the mentor is working on BaS material or doing “mentoring” work with students. This includes administrative time, such as meetings with the instructor.

New student welcome weekend participation and designated hours of the first year retreat are also part of the total hours expected. Each instructor is the supervisor of the mentor for his or her section and establishes the specific expectations in conversation with the mentor. The stipend for a BaS mentor is a maximum of $451. 

A work agreement for the mentor position is generated by Autumn Graves and must be signed and returned by the mentor. Students submit their online EXI timesheets in my.bluffton.edu.  

Among the various activities that mentors might do, the following list suggests some of the possibilities:

  • Be another voice helping to explain the course and encouraging students to see the purpose and goals of BaS.
  • Serve as an orientation leader for your section during the Fall Welcome Weekend for new students. Arrive on campus by the Tuesday morning before the first day of classes.
  • Attend at least two out of three class sessions each week as arranged with the BaS instructor.  
  • Attend the first year retreat (Great Adventure) over fall break.
  • Acclimate students to the academic life on campus. Perhaps give a brief presentation to the class on how to be a successful learner.
  • Provide academic support to students who are struggling with readings or written responses.
  • Serve as a sounding board as students explore possible odyssey plans and seek to develop their plans.
  • Work with the BaS instructor during the class session, perhaps help to coordinate group activities and likely lead some portion of the class each week.
  • Work to keep in touch with students and support them.
  • Facilitate the students’ transition to campus life (answer questions about campus events, help students navigate through processes like advising, etc.). Alert students about upcoming campus events and how to negotiate participation in the events.
  • Discuss with students, as seems appropriate, their larger goals, including what it might mean for them to lead a “life of consequence.” 
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