Ethics, Conduct, and Expectations
Mentoring and Supervisory Expectations
The Department of Integrative Biology at Michigan State University has developed a set of Mentoring and Supervisory Expectations to support effective working relationships between faculty and those in research or teaching roles, including undergraduate researchers, graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and teaching assistants. These documents outline shared expectations around responsibilities, work practices, communication, and professional development. By establishing these standards early, they help reduce misunderstandings, promote consistency, and contribute to a productive academic environment. Designed as tools to support both structure and flexibility, they encourage regular, constructive conversations between mentors and mentees throughout the duration of a teaching or research appointment.
These documents are sorted by the nature of the supervised position, and can be downloaded below.
Graduate Students
Use this document to structure a discussion between the graduate student and their advisor to onboard them prior to the student joining the lab and department. It is intended to establish clear expectations of joining the lab and some aspects to be discussed and revisited annually thereafter.
Postdocs
Building and maintaining a productive working relationship between a supervisor and a post-doctoral researcher is crucial for their success. This document is intended to establish clear expectations for both the postdoc and the supervisor within the first few weeks of joining the lab, which should be reviewed annually thereafter.
Teaching and Learning Assistants & Instructors
Use this document to structure a discussion between the teaching assistant and the instructor to onboard them prior to the course starting. It is intended to establish clear expectations of joining the teaching team and some aspects to be discussed and revisited regularly within the semester and annually if teaching relationships continue.
Undergraduates Students
Use this document to structure a discussion between the undergraduate student and their advisor to onboard them prior to the student joining the lab and department. It is intended to establish clear expectations of joining the lab and some aspects to be discussed and revisited thereafter.
How these documents are to be used
These documents serve as a communication tool that outlines how the advisor-mentee relationship will function, covering areas such as work hours, authorship policies, feedback timelines, lab culture, and professional development opportunities.
These expectations are intended to guide onboarding discussions when a new individual joins a lab or teaching team and should be reviewed together by both parties at the start of the role. They can be used as checklists to help ensure that key topics (such as time commitments, authorship, communication norms, training requirements, and project goals) are clearly addressed and documented. In addition to complementing official university and department policies, these documents offer a practical framework that can be revisited regularly and adapted as needed. For labs or courses that already have established expectations, these documents serve as a prompt to review, clarify, and refine current practices through open discussion.