Supporting Faculty Development and Retention: A Mentoring Program for Next-Generation Educators of UP CAMP

New and early-career educators face increasing challenges in navigating the complex demands of academic life, often with limited institutional support to thrive and ensure career stability. The current faculty profile of the University of the Philippines College of Allied Medical Professions (UP CAMP) reflects this reality, signaling the need for strategies to support its mostly junior-ranked educators in adjusting to and succeeding in their academic roles. Mentoring has been widely recognized as an effective strategy for supporting faculty transition, scholarly productivity, professional identity formation, and long-term engagement in academia. 

This feature article describes the rationale, development, framework, and design of the UP CAMP Faculty Mentoring Program, an institutional initiative designed to support its new and early-career faculty members. The program was grounded in faculty development literature and positions mentoring as a strategy that allows new and early-career faculty to gain support in adjusting to institutional roles and culture, developing career and professional goals, and building relationships within and beyond the university. The program has two tracks: the New Faculty Mentoring Track, which focuses on coaching instructors for role competency and supporting their immersion into the institutional culture, and the Early-Career Mentoring Track, which supports assistant professors in honing their specializations and achieving specific career advancement goals, such as tenure and promotion. At its core, the program is a professional partnership that goes beyond knowledge transfer, offering faculty a space for reflection, dialogue, and guidance as they navigate academic roles and pursue career growth.

The mentoring program is a reflection of CAMP’s commitment to nurturing next-generation educators ready to navigate the ever-changing academic environment and lead the college into new frontiers. The program offers a practical framework that may inform faculty development initiatives in health professions education and other academic settings.