Ethics Wizard
Some people feel that because mentoring involves an interpersonal relationship and depends on the particular personal qualities of the parties and their degree of commitment, a formal role cannot be mandated. But it can be difficult to assure that all graduate students are adequately mentored, and to some degree all teaching and guiding roles involve personal qualities. Also, a formal mentoring program need not be the only mentor one has. So I believe that a formal program is far better than none!