NZ Scholarship Mentoring Policies and Procedures

Scholarship Mentoring Initiative 2009: Policies and Procedures

Download an opendocument format version of these protocols

Overview

This is the documentation for the South Island eLearning Cluster Scholarship Mentoring Initiative.

Structure and Operation

1. The aim of the tutorials will be to revise and extend student knowledge, skills and understanding in each subject offered beyond Level Three NCEA.
2. The range of subjects in which mentoring will be offered will be determined by mentor teacher availability, then pupil choice.
3. Schools must actively screen enrolments in consultation with subject teachers and HODs so that suitable candidates are aware of the scope and purpose of the SMI. Final selection will be made by an SMI administrator
4. Approval of the enrolemnt must be authorised by the Principal with the understanding that this commits them to a financial and support liability.
5. Mentor teachers will individually and/or collectively be responsible for all aspects of the structure of their mentoring programme.
6. Teachers will deliver the programme in weekly ‘sessions’. May include synchronous and asynchronous technologies [eg. 7 VCs and 8 online sessions].
7. There will be a maximum of fifteen sessions.
8. No SMI class will commence unless there is a minimum of FIVE (5) student enrolments.
9. As a rule, students should enrol in a maximum of THREE (3) SMI subjects.
10. Group size shall be no greater than fifteen students from six connecting sites.
11. Each student enrollment on a single SMI course costs $150. Two enrollments cost $300 and 3 enrollments $450. The co-ordinating school (for 2009 Mount Aspiring College, Wanaka) will invoice individual schools as soon as possible during Term 3. Pupils will be able to withdraw and schools receive a full refund after the first two VCs.
12. Clusters and individual schools will need to arrange their own procedures for managing enrollment fees. Possible procedures are:
    1. The school pays the full fee.
    2. The pupil pays the fee to the school which, upon attendance at all SMI sessions, is (either in full or portion) refunded to the pupil (i.e. a 'bond' scheme).
    3. The pupil pays the fee to the school and uses it to pay the invoice from the co-ordinating school (i.e. the pupil pays the full amount).
13. Each session may consist of:
    1. Pre-delivery reading and familiarisation with subject material
    2. Pre-lesson emailing or posting of material on a Virtual Learning Environment [VLE](if required)
    3. Mentor lesson planning
    4. A video conference
    5. Follow-up emailing or posting of material on the VLE (if required)
    6. Consequent marking/assessing of work
14. Additional materials will be made available using email and/or the VLE.
15. Video conferences will be timetabled with two taking place every day. The VCs will nominally last 45 minutes and take place between 3.20pm - 4.05pm and 4.10pm - 5pm unless indicated otherwise.
16. Training will be provided for teachers who are unfamiliar with online delivery.
17. Students are responsible for connecting to the class at the correct time as requested by the teacher.
18. Schools are responsible for ensuring students have; email access, training and learning support.
19. Schools are responsible for arranging payment to the coordinating school by the end of Term Two.
20. Schools are responsible for any additional costs in accessing the SMI classes [eg. VC connectivity].
21. It is intended that the programme will commence in the week beginning Monday 20th July (Term Three, Week One) and run during the school terms until mid November.
22. Mentor teachers will be required to maintain a roll of attendance at class sessions.
23. Each class may arrange a ‘face-to-face’ meeting. Mentor teachers will be responsible for arranging these. Some funding may be available to support expenses of mentor teachers with the approval of the SMI management and students will be responsible for their own costs.
24. A LISTSERV for participating teachers will be established.
25. All mentor teachers and students will complete the survey at the end of the programme.
26. For statistical purposes, participating schools will be asked to provide SMI management with the Scholarship results of programme attendees.

Remuneration and Expenses

1. Mentor teachers will be remunerated $120 gross per session up to a maximum of $1800 (fifteen sessions). This will be paid through the payroll system.
2. Each mentored subject shall have a resource expenses budget of $100 for resource purchasing, photocopying and postage (refundable only on receipts presented before 30 November 2009)