FAQ

We’ve designed the program to be flexible for mentors. We understand you have other personal commitments. You get to decide how much of your time you would like to mentor a student. If you are in a long-term mentorship relationship, it is important that you complete the Mentorship Partnership Agreement at the outset so that you have established how often you would like to meet and the mode(s) of communication.

Absolutely. LSA Connect is a global platform, so LSA students and alums can participate no matter where they are in the world. You can video chat with your mentee via LSA Connect. It is mobile friendly.

LSA Connect is exclusively for LSA students and alums. UCAN is the University Career Center’s interdisciplinary mentoring platform for all U-M students and alums to engage with one another.

There is much research that validates the value of mentorship in today’s society. Mentorship is positively correlated with student success, retention on college campuses, and access to social capital. The demand for mentorship is on the rise. Students and alums all want to have access to mentors and to one another. Given that, mentorship can take on various forms, depending on what one is looking for—be it professional or social, intense or a light touch. Today, many schools are looking at their mentoring programs as a key way to rediscover their unique value proposition: to alums on the one hand, and to prospective students on the other. For alums, one of the strongest ways to drive engagement is by asking them to give back as a mentor while also having the opportunity themselves to access a willing network of mentors.

But the easiest way to prove that mentorship is important is to ask yourself, “What advice do I wish someone would have given me when I graduated from college? First started my career? Made a significant career transition?” You likely have a number of ideas that come to mind.

All in-person meetings should take place in a public setting, such as the mentor’s conference room, a restaurant, or a coffee shop. Meetings can also take place via phone or video chat on LSA Connect.

1. On the homepage, click "Sign In" in the upper right corner.
2. Select your sign-in method.
3. Click the blue "Forgot Password or Create New Password" button.
4. Enter your email and click "Send Password Reset Link."
5. Check your email for the password reset email. (Don't see it? Check spam!)
6. When the password reset email arrives, click the link in it.
7. A new tab will open in which you can follow the instructions to create a new password and sign in.

Mentees will be able to use this information as they search for a possible mentor. We’ve received strong feedback that students want to be able to choose a mentor who best aligns with several dimensions of their identities. Additionally, we want to create an inclusive and representative community that best reflects our LSA community. This information will also be used for tracking purposes. Adding this information to your profile is completely optional.

If you experience any issues with your mentee or if you have any questions, you can contact the mentorship program manager, DeMario Bell, at lsa-connect@umich.edu for support and feedback.

If you learn that a student is in danger or if you have serious concerns about your student mentee, please immediately inform the mentorship program manager, DeMario Bell, by calling (734) 647-6618 or by emailing lsa-connect@umich.edu. Any information given to us about a student is not confidential, and we will step in and follow up with the student. Our priority is always our students’ well-being, so, when in doubt, err on the side of caution and reach out to us. A list of free U-M student resources is here.

If you are requested by a mentee and decide you need to decline the request, you can do so by logging into your account, navigating to your inbox, and click the gray X button on the appropriate request. The mentee will be notified that you declined the request. If you would like to include a response, click “Edit/View Request” and you will be able to explain to the mentee why you are declining the request. If you would like coaching or feedback on language, feel free to contact DeMario Bell at lsa-connect@umich.edu.

1. Click on your profile image in the upper right and then select "Preferences" from the drop-down.
2. Select "Privacy" from the menu on the left—here, you can decide how visible you'd like to make your profile.
3. Select "Availability" from the menu on the left—here, you can turn your availability on or off and, if you turn your availability on, specify how many meetings per month you'd like to be available for.

Note that, depending on your user type, your account may already be hidden! If you don't see the “Availability” and “Privacy” sections in “Preferences,” then your account is already invisible to other users.

No. You control how many students you are able to connect with per month. Just go to your profile preferences and select your availability.

You can mentor as few or as many students as you want. You control how much of your time you want to give.

We don't currently have a mobile app, but we've designed the site to work well on phones and tablets as well as larger devices.