Also referred to as "the grooming model," one-to-one mentoring is the most common academic mentoring model. In this model, the student is paired with a professional or faculty member. Though teaching professionals are the most common mentors, some programs use students in upper classes as mentors to freshmen. In the latter situation, the upperclassman ideally is a person with the same major as the freshman.
One drawback of one-to-one mentoring is that it is effective only when a perfect match can be found between the mentor and the mentee. Network mentoring addresses this problem. Network mentoring involves a deliberate effort to share the experiences, values and perspectives of all the participants in a mentoring program. The grooming model runs the risk that the mentor will unduly influence the mentee, who is less knowledgeable and lacks the experience and confidence to make independent decisions. Use of network mentoring overcomes this potential problem, because the student has a variety of sources from which to learn.
Both one-to-one and network mentoring demand that the mentors and mentees meet in person. In today's world where access to the Internet has continued to grow, computer-mediated communication (CMC) addresses the limitations in the other models. It is ideal when the mentor and mentee are separated geographically and the mentor would have to take a day off work to meet the mentee. With CMC, communication can take the form of emails that help the mentor monitor the mentee's progress. More personalized contact can be achieved with live chat or video conferencing. CMC also helps the student interact with, and benefit from, a greater number of experts.