Peer Mentoring Comes to Arts 15.06.11

From September 2011 all first year Arts students will be allocated a peer mentor.  The mentors will be on-hand to help new students to make friends, find their way around the campus, join clubs and societies, and provide advice on a range of social and academic queries, directing students to university support services as necessary.

Peer mentoring is already successful in some disciplines in the College of Human Sciences (including Psychology and Social Science).  This will now be extended to approximately 1,500 incoming first Arts students as part of the Focus on First Year programme.  Peer mentors differ from Arts Guides as the latter primarily assist at the very start of term.

The Arts Peer Mentoring scheme was launched in April 2011 commencing with the recruitment of 250 mentors.  Each mentor will be linked to a small group of mentees.  Naoimh O’Regan coordinated the launch and recruitment process.  Current BA students responded enthusiastically to a call for applications to volunteer as mentors, with applications well in excess of requirements.  

This new initiative was made possible by a team, which includes the Vice Principals for Teaching and Learning in the College of Arts and Celtics Studies and the College of Human Sciences; the Dean of Arts; the student advisers for Arts, Social Science and mature students and UCD Teaching and Learning.  

The Arts Peer Mentoring programme is just one of a number of initiatives that will be coordinated by the newly appointed Student Engagement Officer who will join UCD later this summer.