Mentoring Update

I began my mentor search about a little over a week ago. The mentoring database at University of Phoenix is rather hit and miss. I was able, however, to find 6 people I thought would fit my project interest. I am now expanding my search to find more potential mentors. Casting the net wide will help me find someone the fits my methodology and interest well.

The 6 potential mentors I found all had a variety of responses to my request. Each potential was asked to complete a questionnaire.

dissertation-advisement-committee-screening-interview.doc

It is an important part of the process for me. The matchmaking questionnaire is also highly recommended by both the school and proceeding doctoral students. The enjoyment derived from reading the responses is hard to capture. The variety and professionalism of the mentoring pool is awesome. While some did not fit, others did. This process is fascinating.

Only one potential balked at the questionnaire citing the length and his lack of time to complete the document. This ruffled my feathers and I felt that this person would not be a match, on any level, to my needs as a student or the vision of mentoring of University of Phoenix. Just think, if a mentor does not have the time to complete a 15-25 minute questionnaire, what kind of time will the mentor has to review, comment, and return a 3 chapter portion of the dissertation? Not much. Worse, this person took nearly a full week to reply that he had no time for the questionnaire. I parted ways and continued the search.

This is an important decision and one I do not make lightly. I am looking for someone who is in it for the long haul and has the tenacity to be as driving as I am. This is a massive undertaking and the strength of the mentor is important to success.

Comments are welcome.

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