Information for Mentors
Who May Serve as a SPUR Mentor?
All CDU faculty members including research, teaching, and visiting faculty, the clinical and professional staff and faculty associates may serve as mentors. CDU students may also arrange a SPUR project with a faculty member at another college or university. A CDU faculty member must serve as co-mentor for students doing a SPUR project off campus.
The Role of a SPUR Mentor
The mentor coaches the student through the proposal writing as well as through the research during the summer. It is important that the student have primary responsibility for his/her own project, usually part of the ongoing research in the mentor's laboratory. Although collaboration between student and mentor will vary with the nature of the student's project, mentoring a SPUR student requires the following:
- Consult with the student on the design of the project and review a draft of the student's proposal. The mentor may not write the proposal; this is the
student's responsibility.
- Complete the Mentor Recommendation Form and submit it directly to the SPUR Office by the application deadline.
- Oversee the student's work on the project and consult at appropriate intervals. If the mentor will be away, he or she should designate a colleague to supervise the student.
- Sign the progress reports and abstract which the student must submit throughout the summer. Mentors must authorize someone to sign the reports in their absence. Mentors should use the progress reports as an opportunity to discuss research progress, problems, etc. Students should use the reports to practice technical writing skills.
- Collaborate with the student in writing the abstract and final report. The paper must be submitted by the specified deadline. If the student continues working on the project during the academic year, he or she should submit a draft report, approved by the mentor, by the deadline. A final report describing additional work or results may be submitted later for the SPUR archives. If the mentor will be away when the final report is due, he/she should authorize a colleague to approve the report.
- Students may take vacation time during the summer with the approval of the mentor; however, students must complete the 10 weeks by the beginning of instruction in the fall term.
- Help the student prepare for the oral presentation on SPUR Seminar Day. This oral report is a requirement of the SPUR program. Students appreciate the support demonstrated by mentors' attendance at Seminar Day.
