About the CSE Mentor Program
What is the CSE Mentor Program?
The CSE Mentor Program is a program organized by the CSE department to
match up incoming freshman, students currently taking CSE115, with
mentors.
What a mentor is
A mentor is a guide, someone you can turn to for advice about all
sorts of things, like the CSE115 course (e.g. "Is it really OK to go
to office hours?"), the department (e.g. "Who should I ask about my
courses for next semester?"), the university (e.g. "Do I really have
to pay my tuition?"), being a freshman (e.g. "I'm feeling a bit
homesick - am I the only person who feels that way?"), and where to
get good pizza (e.g. "Where can I get good pizza?").
What a mentor is not
A mentor is not a personal tutor. You can ask your mentor the odd
course-related question, but you really should direct course-specific
questions to your instructor or your teaching assistant for the
course.
Who are the mentors?
The mentors are students who have recently completed CSE115
themselves, and have gone through the experience of being freshmen,
and all that this entails. They have signed up to be mentors because
they are interested in helping show new students the ropes, easing the
transition to university life.
Who can get a mentor?
Anyone who would like a mentor can get a mentor, up to the capacity of
the program. With our current set of mentors we can accept
approximately 90 current CSE115 students as mentees. While some spots
are already filled with students we assigned mentors, there are still
open spots remaining. If you would like a mentor, send an e-mail to
Carl Alphonce <alphonce@cse.buffalo.edu> with the subject line
"[Mentor request] <your name>", substituting your name in place of
:-)
Is this graded?
There is no homework, and it does not count towards your course grade
at all. It is simply another resource you can take advantage of it
you'd like, to help make your freshman experience all that much
better!
Is there a deadline to ask for a mentor?
No, there is no deadline, but requests for mentors will be honored on
a first-come, first-served basis.
Carl G. Alphonce
Last modified: Wed Sep 27 12:47:42 EDT 2006