Mentoring is a process in which a mentor with experience and knowledge in a certain stage or aspect of life shares his experience and everything he knows to the person receiving the mentoring, or the mentee. An individual may be interested in participating in a mentorship program for the purpose of learning about a particular stage or aspect of life. In many cases, these programs are facilitated by non profit or charitable organizations, who will then make an assessment of the program from the begging up to its completion. In terms of evaluating programs for mentorship, there are various possible ways to do it.
Program Process
One methods of assessing mentorships is through the monitoring of different stages in the program. This means that there will be factors to be chosen, which are then to be utilized to determine if both parties are fulfilling their responsibilities. For instance, program process assessments may check how often the mentor and the mentee meet, how long the program lasted, and most especially if both parties treat each other with utmost respect throughout the mentoring program. The evaluation of the mentoring program is conducted regularly as a way to ensure that it remains healthy for both the mentor and the mentee.
Program Outcomes
Mentorships can also be evaluated by means of determining the expected outcomes as well as checking whether such expectations were met. For instance, one particular goal for mentoring is to support a homosexual college student who has fears of coming out in the open. If in the end this mentee becomes more comfortable with who he or she really is and eventually lets people know about his or her identity, the program can then be considered successful.
Modifications to Programs
Both outcomes evaluation and program process evaluation will produce results which can then be utilized to modify and improve other mentoring programs in the future. The purpose of such alterations or modifications is to make future programs more effective.
Program Comparisons
Mentorship programs are also evaluated through the comparison of the popular practices of a certain program with other programs. By making this comparison, evaluators should be able to figure out what particular practices they’ve got in common, as well as those practices that are unique to each or either of them. Once the differences are pointed out, they can be used as a pattern for the upcoming programs or may also be incorporated to the existing programs.
