Mentor Terms of Service

ResForMe — Global Online Research Mentorship for High School Students

Last updated: December 22, 2025

Thank you for your interest in becoming a mentor on ResForMe. By applying to mentor or accepting a mentorship placement, you agree to these Mentor Terms of Service.

1. Role and Responsibilities

  1. You are an independent mentor (not an employee or contractor of ResForMe) providing 1:1 online research guidance to high school students.
  2. You agree to:
    • Respond to student messages on the Talk2Me platform the same day (whenever possible, and at minimum within 24 hours).
    • Check in on student progress daily (including weekends) during active mentorship periods.
    • Provide constructive, timely feedback on research progress, code, results, posters, presentations, or papers.
    • Conduct live video sessions (when scheduled) professionally and on time.
    • Help the student develop an original, feasible research project suitable for their skill level and timeline.
  3. You retain full academic freedom in guiding project direction, methodology, and tools.

2. Sessions, Attendance and Scheduling

These rules mirror Section 6 of the student Terms, so the student and the mentor are held to the same schedule. They apply to mentorships that begin on or after 3 August 2026.

  1. Start each session on time, and wait 15 minutes before closing it. After 15 minutes you may close the session and record it as delivered.
  2. When a student misses a session, post written guidance in Talk2Me the same day covering what the session would have covered. The live hour may be lost, the teaching may not be.
  3. Accept a change of time at no cost to the student when they give at least 12 hours notice and you have another slot in the same week.
  4. Offer the make-up sessions included in the student's package: one for each four weeks of its length, so one for a 4-week package, two for 8 weeks, three for 16 weeks.
  5. Write to hello@resforme.com when a student misses two sessions in a row, so we can contact the parent or guardian, check that the student is well, and agree a schedule the student can keep. That may mean fewer live sessions each week with more of the mentoring in writing, at no change in price to the family and no change in your fee.
  6. Give the student at least 12 hours notice when you need to move a session. A session you miss without notice does not count against the student's package and is rescheduled at no cost to them.
  7. Keep the record in Talk2Me. A session held, moved, or missed is recorded by your post in the student's Talk2Me document on the day.

3. Student Privacy and Safety

Privacy is our highest priority.

  • No mentoring sessions may be recorded by either mentor or student.
  • You may not request, collect, or store any personal student information outside the ResForMe platform.
  • All communication must occur within the official Talk2Me workspace or approved video platforms (Google Meet/Zoom links provided by ResForMe).
  • You must immediately report any safeguarding concerns to hello@resforme.com.

4. Intellectual Property

  1. The student retains full ownership of their research project, data, code, poster, paper, and any publications.
  2. You may be listed as co-author on publications only with the student’s explicit consent and in accordance with standard academic norms.
  3. You may reference the mentorship experience (anonymously or with permission) in your CV, website, or professional profile.

5. Eligibility and Vetting

  1. You must be a current university professor, lecturer, postdoctoral researcher, or PhD candidate with demonstrated research expertise.
  2. You agree to background disclosure, professional reference checks, and a live video interview as part of onboarding.
  3. ResForMe reserves the right to decline or remove mentors at its discretion.

6. Prohibited Conduct

  1. No in-person meetings with students are permitted.
  2. No direct payment requests to students or parents outside the platform.
  3. No promotion of external paid services to students during mentorship.
  4. No sharing of student work or communications without explicit permission.

7. Termination

  1. Either party may end an active mentorship with reasonable notice and justification.
  2. ResForMe may immediately terminate your mentor status for breach of these terms or safeguarding concerns.
  3. Completed mentorships will still be compensated proportionally.

8. Limitation of Liability

ResForMe acts only as a platform connecting mentors and students. We are not responsible for research outcomes, publication acceptance, competition results, or college admissions decisions.

9. Changes to Terms

We may update these terms periodically. Continued mentoring after changes constitutes acceptance of the new terms.

Thank you for helping make authentic research accessible to motivated high school students worldwide.
Your expertise and dedication can truly change lives.

Apply to Become a Mentor