Mentoring Matters

Faculty mentoring is essential to the success of Elon’s Honor Program. Expert faculty provide support and guidance for students as they articulate a research question or topic, develop a plan for addressing the research question or topic, learn the skills necessary to address the research topic within the context of an academic discipline, produce a high-quality thesis, and present their results.

According to a 2014 Gallup/ Purdue University poll of 30,000 college graduates there are a number of university experiences that correlate to long-term professional success, including:

  • Having a mentor who encourages you to pursue your goals and dreams
  • Having a professor who cares about you as a person
  • Having a professor who makes you excited about learning

These are only some of the things that Elon faculty offer students by mentoring through the Honors program. The relationship between a mentor and an Honors fellow can have a life-long, positive impact.

If you are a faculty member planning on or interested in mentoring an Honors fellow or even a current mentor, please take a look at our Guidelines and Expectations for Honors Mentors.

4998 Requirements, Registration, and Reports

Honors fellows are required to complete eight hours of HNR 4998 credit with their mentors. They may begin taking 4998 hours the fall semester of their junior year, as long as they intend to propose their thesis that semester as well. The 4998 hours may be divided up a variety of ways, although the hours should be taken during a regular semester (i.e. neither winter or summer terms) and at least four hours should be completed during the student’s senior year.

Students are required to register online for HNR 4998 themselves; however, they should develop their 4998 contracts in conversation with their mentor. Please use the HNR 4998 Registration Contract to outline your expectations for the semester, including due dates and guidelines for grading. Once completed, the student can register online through the Registrar’s Office. The online registration must be approved by the mentor, the student’s department chair, and the Honors Director. Please submit the registration early enough that these parties have sufficient time to read and approve the registration.

One of the responsibilities of the Honors mentor is completing the Faculty 4998 Report. These reports should be filled out on or before the day final grades are due each semester.

Co-Mentoring

The Honors Program expects each Honors Fellow to have a single mentor from their major department to provide consistent guidance and feedback throughout the two-year term. However, in some rare cases, a co-mentoring model is more effective for the success of the Honors Fellow’s project. In this case, the student must meet with the Honors Program Director to explain why the co-mentoring model is necessary before signing up for 4998 credits.

Co-mentors must be involved throughout the entire project and do all evaluative work together, ensuring that the Honors Fellow does not receive contradictory guidance. Co-mentors will divide the eight hours of HNR 4998 credits taken over the two-year period.