Mentoring Check-In Forms

Twice each academic year, graduate students complete a mentoring check-in form. The form is a structured reflection on your research progress, coursework, and goals; your mentoring committee reviews your responses and provides feedback.

The Two Forms

Form	Season	Reviewed by (in parallel)
Fall Mentoring Check-In	Fall term (Sept-Nov)	Primary advisor, secondary advisor, peer mentor
Spring Mentoring Check-In	Spring term (Mar-May)	Secondary advisor, peer mentor, graduate committee chair

Forms are typically assigned to all graduate students each term by the department, with a due date. You can also start one yourself from the form page.

Starting a Form

1. From your dashboard, find the Mentoring widget and click the form button (the system picks fall or spring based on the time of year), or go to /graduate/mentoring
2. If no form exists yet for the current term, you'll see a description of the form — click Start Fall Check-In Form (or Spring)
3. The form opens as a multi-step wizard

Only one form per type per academic year can exist — if one has already been created for you, it opens directly.

Filling Out the Fall Form

The fall form has four steps:

Step 1: Research Progress

• Research Summary (required, at least 100 characters) - your current research focus and activities
• Research accomplishments, challenges, publications in progress, and conference presentations

Step 2: Coursework

• Courses completed this term and planned for next term (searchable course selectors)
• Academic concerns and teaching assistantship experience

Step 3: Goals & Support

• Short-Term Goals (required) - your goals for the next 3-6 months
• Support needed from your primary advisor, secondary advisor, and peer mentor
• Professional development plans and wellbeing (the wellbeing question is there to help your mentors support you)

Step 4: Review & Submit

A summary of all your answers. Click Submit for Review when you're ready.

Filling Out the Spring Form

The spring form covers the same research and coursework ground, plus a year-end reflection:

1. Research Progress - summary (required, at least 100 characters), accomplishments, challenges, publication status, presentations given
2. Coursework - courses completed this spring, planned for fall, milestone progress, teaching experience
3. Year Reflection - year highlights (required), challenges, growth areas, mentoring effectiveness, program feedback
4. Goals & Planning - summer plans, goals for next year (required), support needed, career development
5. Review & Submit

Statuses

Status	What it means
Draft	You can edit and save; nothing has been sent to reviewers
Submitted	Sent to your reviewers; the form is read-only while they review
Under Review	Reviewers are actively working through your form
Approved	All reviewers have approved
Revision Requested	A reviewer asked for changes; the form reopens for editing

What Happens After You Submit

1. Your form's status changes to Submitted
2. An approval record is created for each member of your review group, and they are notified
3. Reviewers approve in parallel — they don't need to wait for each other
4. An Approval Progress section appears below the form showing each reviewer's status
5. When all reviewers approve, the form is Approved

If a reviewer requests revisions, the status changes to Revision Requested. Open the form, make your changes, and click Resubmit for Review.

Drafts and Deadlines

• Your answers are saved as a draft while you work, so you can leave and come back
• Each form has a due date (shown on the dashboard widget); forms assigned by the department come with a department-set deadline

Troubleshooting

"A fall mentoring form for this year already exists"

You (or the department) already created this term's form. Go back to /graduate/mentoring — the existing form will open automatically.

The form is read-only

Forms can only be edited in Draft or Revision Requested status. If it's been submitted, wait for your reviewers' decisions.

"Graduate Students Only"

The mentoring check-in is only available to graduate students. If your account type is wrong, contact an administrator.