FAQs

The UGA Mentor Program is the University’s first comprehensive mentorship initiative—an easy-to-use digital platform that connects undergraduate, graduate, and professional students with UGA Mentors, including alumni, faculty, and staff. Whether building a long-term mentoring relationship or scheduling a 15–30 minute Quick Chat, students can connect with mentors from anywhere to gain clarity, confidence, and direction for their future.

• Support students in developing their personal and professional networks with UGA staff, faculty, alumni and friends (i.e. Board members) of the University.
• Provide an avenue for students to explore professional goals, career interests, and workplace preferences.
• Help students to gain an appreciation for mentoring as a personal and professional development tool.
• Provide a meaningful opportunity for staff, faculty, alumni, and friends to connect with UGA students around life, career, and professional experiences.
• Inspire staff, faculty, alumni, and friends to strengthen their relationship with and support of the University.

• Mentees = current UGA students (undergraduate, graduate and professional students)
• Mentors = UGA staff, faculty, alumni, and friends of the University (Board members)

Absolutely! This is a global program without geographic boundaries; students and alumni of UGA living anywhere in the world are strongly encouraged to participate. Students and mentors can connect virtually or in-person.

• Using the UGA Mentor Program online platform, students and mentors will each complete a profile. After students complete their profiles, the platform will present students with 3 suggested mentors.
  
• Students may request a mentor from this list, or they can search for a different mentor based on available search criteria to narrow down the selection.
  
• Once the student requests a mentor, the UGA Mentor has the opportunity to either accept or decline the request, establishing mutual ownership in the mentorship connection process.
  
• Students can also connect with a UGA Mentor through a Quick Chat or a Circle of Success.

Students cannot view other students, and mentors cannot search student profiles. Once a student makes a mentoring request, that individual mentor will be able to view the student’s profile in order to determine if they believe the mentoring connection is a good fit. If students are engaged in a circle, they will be able to see the profiles of other students, as well as their mentor.

All in-person meetings should take place in a public location, such as a coffee shop. Meetings can also take place via phone or video chat.

Through the UGA Mentor Program, undergraduate, graduate, and professional students gain more than just advice—they gain a trusted guide who’s walked the path before them. Whether you're exploring career options, preparing for graduate school, or navigating life at UGA, a mentor can help you see your strengths, sharpen your goals, and build confidence.

Research shows that students with mentors are more likely to stay on track academically, feel a stronger sense of belonging, and enter the workforce with clarity and purpose. By connecting with a UGA Mentor, you're not just building a network—you're building a relationship that can have a lasting impact on your future.

Being a mentee means showing up, staying engaged, and taking initiative. A successful mentorship takes just a small time commitment—typically one connection per month—but your openness, communication, and follow-through make all the difference. The more you put into the relationship, the more you'll gain in return.

16-week connections and Circles of Success are encouraged to meet for at least one hour/month. Quick Chats are encouraged to be approximately 30 minute conversations.

Mentors are UGA staff, faculty, alumni, and friends of the University (Board members)

Mentees are expected to: • Fully commit to the duration of the mentorship • Curate the connection o Establish expectations for your mentorship, set clear goals, ask for feedback • Consistently Communicate o Decide appropriate communication channels with your mentor, whether that is on or off the platform o Prepare discussion topics prior to each meeting o Take initiative to schedule sessions o Maintain a sense of professionalism in your outreach • Respect their time and schedules o Notify your mentor if you need to cancel or reschedule a meeting • Express appreciation for their help and guidance • Do not ask for a job or internship

Because the formal mentorship duration is only 16-weeks, you can only connect with one mentor at a time within the platform. Once your 16-week mentorship concludes, you can request a new mentor. You are able to have both a 16-week mentorship and two Quick Chats at the same time. Quick Chats do not automatically release, so you will have to manually conclude the Quick Chat connection in order to request mentors for more conversations.

Circles of Success serve as a 16-week mentorship.

You can only request one 16-week mentorship at a time. If you have requested a mentor and they have not responded within 7 business days, we recommend sending a follow-up message before cancelling the connection request after day 14.

If you need any help requesting a mentor, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at ugamentor@uga.edu.

It means they are currently at their capacity for mentoring relationships. We suggest you bookmark their profiles and check back later.

There may be a variety of reasons why a requested UGA Mentor declined your request. They simply may not have the capacity to mentor at this given time. Just log back into the UGA Mentor Program, and search for and request another mentor. There are more Bulldog mentors that would love the opportunity to connect with you.

The first step is to discuss the challenges with your mentor. If you are still having trouble or need some support on how to have those conversations, you can contact us at ugamentor@uga.edu.

Don't hesitate to reach out with any policy violation concerns.

• Click on the mentor's profile and hover over the "More" button.
  
• Select the “Contact Admin" flag icon, and include a message of why you are concerned about this individual.
• You can also notify UGA Mentor Program team directly via emailing ugamentor@uga.edu.

Absolutely! You can recommend your mentor to other students or even share a short testimonial about your experience.

Recommending your mentor to others:
- Click on your mentor's profile picture icon
- Hit the "More" button
- Click the "Recommend To" button
- Type the fellow student's email address (It can be any student; they don't have to be a current participant in the UGA Mentor Program)
- Click "Send"

Submit a testimonial about your experience:
- Log into your account.
- On your homepage, look for the "Has your mentoring relationship been successful? Share your story here." text.
- Click on the red, hyperlinked text to submit your story!

If you and your mentor agree that you want to continue the mentoring relationship, that is fantastic! Be sure to check with your mentor to confirm that they want to continue the relationship and have the time to continue investing in the relationship.

Being part of the Bulldog Nation means more than earning a degree—it’s about connection, support, and giving back.

College and career transitions can be challenging, but mentorship provides students with confidence, direction, and a sense of belonging. Research shows that students with mentors perform better academically and professionally.

Your experience can inspire the next generation of Bulldogs. By mentoring, you help students maximize their time at UGA and strengthen the Bulldog network—one relationship at a time.

• Commit to the mentoring relationship for the full length of the connection.
• Connect with student mentee on a regular basis (e.g., once a month phone call, in-person meeting, or email conversation), providing mentee with adequate opportunities for interaction.
• Work with student mentee to set goals for the program and provide feedback and guidance related to these goals.
• Share experiences and feedback to develop mentee's networking, communication, problem solving, and interviewing skills.

It is important to remember that this may be your mentee's first experience with mentorship - be ready to provide guidance on how they can best maximize their experience with you.

All UGA staff, faculty, alumni, and friends of the University (i.e. Board members) are eligible to serve as mentors in the UGA Mentor Program. Whether you are one year out of college, retired, at the peak of your career, or anywhere in between, you have valuable experience and wisdom to offer UGA students.

Mentors can select up to two mentees for a 16-week mentorship at one time. This is only encouraged if you truly have the capacity to commit to two mentorship relationships. This also includes leading a Circle of Success.

You can also opt into Quick Chats. You are able to host up to 5 quick chats at a time.

• Log in and click on the “My Account” tab either at the top right-hand side of your screen or in the ribbon on the left-hand side of the screen.
• Then, select the “Participation” tab, and use the drop down to set the maximum number of mentees you would like to connect with at one time (1 or 2).

It may take some time before you receive a student request, since this is a student-driven program. Mentees are able to search for mentors in our database using select search criteria.

It is crucial to make sure your profile is complete and compelling, including profile pictures and a robust professional summary. We hope to engage alumni who are not currently mentoring students in other capacities, including virtual or in-person programming and events.

Students are instructed to provide you with context on why they want you to be their mentor. If a student requests specific career advice that you cannot offer, consider connecting your mentee with other Bulldogs you know in that industry. In turn, this demonstrates the importance of having a network and will help students develop their own personal and professional network. Find and provide your mentee with resources that will be helpful to their industry. Remember, you can always work on ensuring your mentee develops essential skills for the workforce (leadership, communication, interpersonal skills, active listening, etc.) that transcend all professional industries.

To decline a student's mentor request, select the button just below the mentee's headshot on your home page that says "Decline". You can send the student a message if you would like or simply press decline. The student will be alerted via email that their request was unsuccessful, and they are encouraged to search for and request another mentor.

Please be sure to check your spam folder for any potential lost messages. If the problem persists, we encourage you to message your mentee to discuss whether they have over-committed and if it's in the best interest of both parties to release from the mentoring relationship. If you never hear back from the student, you can log-in to the platform and release from the mentoring relationship. Then, you will be back in the mentor pool for other students to request you as their mentor.

Please also contact us at ugamentor@uga.edu, and we will assist in contacting your mentee.

If you would like to report concern for a UGA student, Student Care & Outreach encourages you to submit an online report. Expressing concern proactively can help with early intervention and success. Once received, a staff member will contact you for more information.

You can flag a student's account, and a member of our team will be notified to follow up with both you and the mentee. To flag an account, click on the student's profile image, select the "more" dropdown box, and click on the "Contact admin..." to notify our team.

For emergencies, please contact 911.

If you and the student agree that you want to continue the mentoring relationship, that is fantastic! Be sure to check with the student to confirm that they want to continue the relationship and have the time to continue investing in the relationship. You can also use our Closure Conversation Guide to help discuss your next steps.

Yes. If you find that it is an especially busy time for you or you just need a break, you can suspend your account indefinitely or for a set amount of time by visiting the “My Account” section when you are logged into the platform. Click on the tab that says “Participation”. Uncheck the box that says “I want to be searchable in UGA Mentor Program”. Below that, list the start date in which you want to become invisible and the date in which you want to become visible again. If you need to suspend your account indefinitely, just uncheck the box, and you will no longer be searchable in the database. When you are ready to be searchable again, log back in, and check the box to opt back into the program.

If it is a busy time for you or you just need a break, feel free to suspend your account indefinitely or for a set amount of time by visiting the “My Account” section when you are logged into the platform. Click on the tab that says “Participation”. Uncheck the box that says “I want to be searchable in UGA Mentor Program”. Below that, list the start date in which you want to become invisible and the date in which you want to become visible again. If you need to suspend your account indefinitely, just uncheck the box, and you will no longer be searchable in the database. When you’re ready to be searchable again, log back in, and check the box to be opted back into the program.

If you would rather delete your account permanently, please email ugamentor@uga.edu for assistance.

Our hope is that you don't have to self-release from your mentorship. Please contact us at ugamentor@uga.edu to help you. However, if it comes to the point where you want to release, you can take the steps listed below:

• When viewing your match in the UGA Mentor Program platform, select the dropdown menu in the top right corner labeled "More."
• Select the "Release from Mentorship/Quick Chat" option.
• Explain the reasoning for ending your mentoring relationship prior to the match period.
• If you've pressed this by mistake, please email ugamentor@uga.edu for assistance re-establishing your connection.