Level 1 Cohorts Start April 24th for 10 Weeks and April 26th for 5 Weeks!

 Mentoring Policies, Registration, and Procedures

Do not schedule any mentoring until you have read this information thoroughly.

All students at ACA Coach Academies have 10 hours of mentoring included in their program. Of the 10 hours, 7 are group mentor sessions, and 3 are individual mentor sessions. Students self-register for individual mentoring sessions. Group sessions are done by cohort. According to ICF, students must complete mentoring over a minimum of 3 months. We work with students to complete mentoring within 3-6 months.

Students must track their mentoring hours and submit this information to be verified by ACA before they are granted a graduation certificate.

Group mentoring at ACA involves listening to one or more coaching recordings and discussing the coach’s strengths and growth areas. In individual mentoring sessions, you will review one call of your own. Strengths are areas where the coach has demonstrated the minimum skills requirements for their credential level. Areas for growth are indicated if the coach has a specific area to focus on to meet these minimum skills requirements. For all the minimum skills requirements, please see this area on ICF’s website. For a student to participate in mentoring, they must have some understanding of these minimum skills requirements.

As a group mentoring session participant, you will learn from your mentor’s feedback, your peer’s feedback, and your self-reflection. Observations and feedback will be based on ICF’s core coaching competencies and the minimum skills requirements. We ask each student to have a copy of the minimum skills requirements for each session. Students are also asked to use this Feedback Sheet during the mentoring sessions.

Ideal Completion Rate

Students participate in group mentoring. This ideal completion rate for individual sessions should be completed within 3-6 months after completing the program. This allows students to be prepared for the performance evaluation. Mentoring supports student development, and that will support passing the performance evaluation.

Registration Policy

Students are given days and times for their mentoring group but self-register for individual sessions. Refer to the information and directions emailed to you. Only current students are allowed to register for mentor sessions. Mentoring is offered at multiple different times and on different days of the week to meet everyone’s needs. Remember, mentoring must take place over a minimum of 3 months. This means your mentor sessions, group and individual, must be spread out over a minimum of 3 months. They can not be completed one day sooner. We work with those students to complete mentoring in a 3-6 month timeframe. See more information below on the 3-month requirement.

Procedures

Up to two recordings will be shown during a group mentor session. The following is what is required for each session:

  • Each student is to submit a section of a coaching call that is 15-30 minutes.

  • You must submit your call at least 3 working days before your mentor session.

  • When you submit your call, please indicate a 15-30 minute section of the call to review.

  • Two recordings will be chosen out of all of the submissions by the mentor. Your call may be shown, and it may not.

One recording will be reviewed during an individual mentor session. The following is what is required for each session:

  • Submit a section of a coaching call that is 15-30 minutes.

  • You must submit your call at least 3 working days before your mentor session.

  • When you submit your call, please indicate a 15-30 minute section of the call to review.

IMPORTANT: To prepare for your session, please refer to the coaching preparation page on our website here.

3-Month Requirement Policy

ICF requires that students complete mentoring no earlier than 3 months. Here is an example of how 3 months could be calculated:

  • Month 1: May 1st to June 1st

  • Month 2: June 1st to July 1st

  • Month 3: July 1st to August 1st

Students are responsible for ensuring they are not completing mentoring any sooner than 3 months. If you have a question on the timeframe calculation, please email Liz at liz@acacoachacademies.org, and we will confirm your timeframe. If a student completes 10 mentor sessions before the 3 months ends, they will be responsible for paying for an additional session at the rate of $150.00.

Students are required to keep a log of their group and individual mentoring sessions. You will submit this log when you request to officially graduate from the program (complete class requirements, 10 hours of mentoring, and pass the performance evaluation). ACA will then verify the mentoring you submit and inform you of your graduation status.

If a student does not spread their mentoring out over a minimum of 3-4 months, sessions will be canceled at the discretion of the mentor, and students will be directed to reschedule based on the suggestion of the mentor.

Scheduling Policy

Here is an example of how to spread your mentoring out over a 4 month period.

Month 1: 1 individual session, 1 group session

Month 2: 1 individual session, 2 group sessions

Month 3: 2 group sessions

Month 4: 1 individual session, 2 group sessions

Again, we do not guarantee that a student to complete mentoring within any period of time. We do offer many times of day to fit various student needs and their ideal timeframe.

Recordings Timeframe

The coaching calls that a student submits must be recent. It is recommended that coaching recordings take place within 4 weeks of the mentoring session. This ensures the coach is not receiving feedback on a skill they have already perfected.

No-Show Policy

When students register for a mentoring session, they are expected to attend. We understand that life happens and sometimes gets in the way. Students will be allowed one no-show without penalty. Subsequent no-shows without contacting the mentor or Elizabeth in advance (text, email, Slack, or WhatsApp) and not giving us time to contact the waitlist will risk being removed from the mentoring program.

Zoom Invites

Zoom links are sent for group sessions by the mentor prior to the meeting. Individual meeting invites will be sent via Calendly if that is how your mentor schedules their sessions.

Expiration

Students must complete their mentoring within a reasonable amount of time. Requesting mentoring 1 year after graduating is not reasonable. Please keep in mind that ACA reserves the right to deny mentoring to any student who does not complete their mentoring within a year of completing their program.