Set Clear Expectations
Starting your mentoring relationship with clear expectations and avoid potential future conflicts. Undergraduates do not know the professional etiquette, processes, or cultures that many researchers take for granted. Having an open conversation to flush out assumptions can establish a strong relationship and lasting relationship.
Consider working in a group with the undergraduate mentee, graduate student or postdoc mentor(s), and faculty mentor to co-create an expectations contact/compact/agreement. Pair this with a discussion of the mentee’s and the mentors’ goals. The Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER) Entering Research has an example (registration required), which is also posted here.
In addition to outlining expectations, this document can also set up schedules and timelines. Have open discussions about how many hours of research each week you can support if you are paying your undergraduate researcher or how many hours are expected for each credit hour (the standard guidance is 3 hours of research per 1 credit of a research course, but check with your department’s academic advisor for area-specific guidance). Consider including end-of-experience deliverables like a paper or a presentation at the Office of Undergraduate Research’s Undergraduate Research Symposium (late April) or the Illinois Summer Research Program Alliance’s STEM Career Exploration and Symposium (late July).
Return to top of page