Terms and Definitions
Defining Shared Language
Informing the FAIM framework and corresponding resources are evidence-based practice and interdisciplinary scholarly literature, including from the fields of sociology, education, faculty and student development, and organizational theory.
Shared language helps create mutual understanding, necessary to collectively and collaboratively reimagine and address processes that perpetuate challenges for academic and professional success (Whitehouse et al., 2021).
Definitions
Advisor
An advisor has responsibilities set by the institution and is primarily responsible for ensuring a student fulfills graduation requirements as well as follows university and department guidelines, including around research conduct. A relationship between an advisor and an advisee has a concrete beginning and end (Bird, 2001).
Systemic Change
Systemic change means moving beyond individual and into organizational change (White-Lewis, Bennett, & Redd, 2022).
Inclusive Mentorship
Inclusive mentorship is a co-constructed and reciprocal relationship between a mentor and mentee who take a strengths-based and identity-informed approach to working together to support their mutual growth, development and success (NASEM, 2017; Windchief, 2019).
Living Tool
A living tool is a formative and dynamic resource that is ongoingly modified to remain relevant and useful as needs, goals, and context change. For example FAIM’s mentor network map, mentoring expectations agreement plan, etc.
Mentee
A mentee seeks and accepts guidance from a mentor, and they actively participate in the relationship.
Mentor
A mentor provides a mentee with support and guidance throughout their academic and professional trajectory. Their relationship is flexible: it has no start and end point and it can be professional and personal. A mentor shares experience and expertise and is actively invested in the academic and professional success of a mentee (Bird, 2001).
Mentoring Network
A mentoring network is a collective of mentors that provide support, accountability, and affirmation for a mentee. Mentees engage with each member of their mentoring network and receive different forms of complementary support from each mentor to holistically support a mentee (NASEM, 2019).
Sense of Belonging
A sense of belonging means feeling valued, accepted, understood, and included within networks of other professionals and academics within the department, university, and field writ-large (Pedler et al., 2022). Further, a sense of belonging means feeling as if one can relate to others within those networks (Strayhorn, 2019).
Strengths-Based Approach
A strengths-based approach to mentoring builds upon a mentee’s existing skills, knowledge, and experiences. It emphasizes what’s working well and supports the mentee in growing by leveraging their unique assets, values, and relationships (Ferguson & Lockman, 2024, ahead of print).
The Whole Self
The whole self is comprised of the various social identities (e.g., parent, first generation college student, queer) that each individual holds, along with associated thoughts, feelings, and beliefs about the world that may be influenced by those social identities. Showing up as a whole self means accepting and expressing one’s social identities, experiences, and understandings of the world (Bell, 2010; Ferdman & Roberts, 2014).