Connect Program | Faculty

Mentor first-gen students in your department

Serve as a Faculty Guide in the Connect Faculty-Student Mentorship Program and mentor first-generation college students in your department. As a Faculty Guide, you'll offer guidance and advice around the college and post-grad journey to encourage student success. Working with students in your department will also facilitate productive connections with your program while encouraging a sense of belonging. All faculty, first-gen and continuing-gen, are welcome to volunteer. 

Become a Faculty Guide Heading link

In the Connect Program, mentors are referred to as Faculty Guides. Learn about what you’ll do as a Faculty Guide, how program involvement positively impacted past faculty, and review our enrollment process.

As a Faculty Guide, you’ll:

  • Mentor 1-3 first-generation college students in your department, schedule monthly meetings, and connect one-on-one or in groups (virtually or in-person). The time commitment is a minimum of 1-2 hours each month once linked to a student, and you may select to mentor students for one or two semesters.
  • Support students in identifying, developing, and working toward goals that address their academic and professional interests and needs. Based on student feedback, general areas of desired support relate to learning about academic success strategies, major and department offerings, internship and research opportunities, and professional pathways.
  • Promote students’ self-advocacy and self-efficacy by activating their help-seeking behaviors, resource engagement, and network building.

Explore how we help Connect Faculty Guides maximize their impact and support the growth and development of students with our Mentoring Resources linked below.

Mentorship benefits mentees and mentors. Read the excerpts below to learn how faculty serving as Faculty Guides made a positive impact on their UIC and LAS experiences.

  • “Being at an R1, much of my work is related to research. However, this program gave me an opportunity to pay it forward and help students as they navigate the sometimes daunting university experience.”
  • “I typically teach over 200 students every semester, and focusing on just one student in my role as a faculty guide this semester was rewarding. I felt invested in their success and it seemed that they knew that.”
  • “It builds connections between students and faculty, hopefully help the students, and reminds us all of the challenges we might have faced when we were younger and provides advice to students about how to deal with the challenges they face.”
  • “I’ve enjoyed working with students who aren’t in my classes, which gives me insights into how “students” are thinking and doing at UIC.”
  • “I enjoyed getting to know a student in the department who I am not teaching. It created a relationship where we could discuss college and life in a different manner than before.”

Enrollment for Spring 2023 is now open.

  • Faculty interested in volunteering may complete and submit a brief enrollment form and profile by January 16th. Enrollment will reopen in the fall. Select the “Enrollment” link below to get started.
  • Returning faculty may complete an abbreviated form while new faculty are asked to complete an enrollment form and profile. Profiles are shared with student mentees to help them learn more about you. Faculty also receive mini profiles completed by students.
  • After applying, faculty become part of the Faculty Guide Database and receive notifications when students who share their departments enroll.
  • All applications are active for the academic year and need only to be completed once. This change supports the program’s new student enrollment model, which allows students to request Faculty Guides throughout the year and encourages more student-faculty connections.