Faculty Mentor Responsibilities

The Faculty Mentor will help support intern student in identifying, progressing towards, and achieving their goals at their internship while also providing mentorship around the students’ career path of interest. The mentor also assists the student intern to formulate attainable, measurable learning outcomes.

Students work with a faculty mentor from the beginning of the internship process. As a mentor, faculty must meet with students (either in person or online) to discuss their progress toward completing the learning objectives and written assignments that are part of the internship. During the semester the faculty mentor will conduct one site visit per the Title 5, California Code of Regulations, section 55255. The site visit provides the opportunity for the faculty mentor and work supervisor to meet in person to discuss the student’s progress during the semester. The faculty mentor will determine the student’s final grade.

Checklist for Faculty Mentor

The following checklist highlights the necessary responsibilities for faculty supervision of a student intern at Orange Coast College.

Faculty Mentor Expectations: Agree to serve as a faculty mentor for a student during the course of his or her internship.
Networking: When possible, help the intern in the search for opportunities.
Student Learning Outcomes: Work with the student to develop the Internship Learning Outcomes contract. This assistance includes helping the student formulate learning outcomes and academic assignments, as well as negotiating the level of supervision and methods of evaluation. The Learning Outcomes contract will be submitted with the Internship Approval Form to the academic dean for approval.
Site Visits: Within 3 weeks of the student enrolling into the course, the Faculty Mentor must complete a site visit to the student’s internship worksite and meet with the Internship Site Supervisor per the Title 5, California Code of Regulations, section 55255. During the site visit and meeting the Faculty Mentor will verify that the working environment is safe and that the assigned internship tasks are appropriate. For remote-work internships, a virtual meeting with the Internship Site Supervisor is sufficient. The Site Visit Form must be submitted to (or completed by) Katie Ottoson at ksnyder9@occ.cccd.edu within 3 weeks of the student enrolling into the course.
Communication: Throughout the semester, meet with your student intern(s) at least twice to discuss overall internship experience, progression of their Learning Contract goals, occupational and/or educational goals, and/or overall career development. It is the students’ responsibility to initiate and schedule these two meetings (but a “nudge” is often necessary on your end!) You will assign points to the completion of these meetings, so it’s important for them to occur.
Assignment and Grade: Near the end of the semester, the student will complete their Final Report and submit it to you for grading and feedback. Students are instructed to submit their Final Report to you at least 1 week before the last day of the semester. You will then need to complete the Faculty Mentor Grade Sheet and submit it to Katie Ottoson at ksnyder9@occ.cccd.edu before the last day of the semester. The Faculty Mentor Grade Sheet involves your assigning points for the two meetings that took place, as well the students’ Final Report, which includes a grade for their reflection, their resume, and their self-evaluation.