Building on the successful network of Residential Counselors (RC) already in place, the College plans to debut a Peer Academic Mentors Program in which juniors and seniors will work with first-year students in their dormitories to bolster needed study skills, help students utilize the academic advising system effectively and encourage them to take advantage of available support services such as the Writing and Quantitative Centers and the College library.
Special Projects Fellow for the Office of the President Rachel Cardona first thought of the Peer Mentors Program when she recalled former classmates' academic struggles. "I conceived of the program when I thought about my friends over the years who failed a class, not because they did not have the ability to pass the course, but because at one point they needed help and decided not to seek it out," she said. "Either because they felt uncomfortable about seeking help, were in denial about needing help or did not know there was help available."
Because of the diverse backgrounds first-years bring to the College, Cardona argued, some students may not feel adequately prepared to tackle college-level academic life. "Not knowing what is available or being uncomfortable about seeking help can be symptomatic of varying degrees of high school preparations and different culture attitudes about seeking support," she said.
With the new mentoring program, first-year students will be readily informed of the academic help available to them. "Mentors will be very knowledgeable of academic support services, and well-versed in teaching different students skills-among them, time management, test taking skills, note-taking skills and different reading techniques," said Cardona.
Cardona reemphasized the goals of the program stating, "Teaching first-years effective study skills, increasing the awareness and use of academic services, and encouraging frequent communication with faculty advisors are the mechanisms the program will deploy to make academic success at Amherst more egalitarian."
During the academic year, mentors will hold regular office hours in the library of the dormitory to which they are assigned. The pilot program, conducted primarily in James and Stearns Halls-the largest two first-year residence halls that together house roughly 37 percent of each entering class-will consist of 10 Academic Peer Mentors, four per dorm and two at large.
In addition to providing two to five office hours each week, depending on times of high need such as pre-registration and exam periods, mentors will organize a series of workshops throughout the semester on developing time management and other essential study skills.
Applications involving a personal statement and two recommendations, with at least one coming from a faculty member, from interested rising sophomores and juniors will be reviewed thoroughly. A committee of deans, residential life staff and faculty will then make the final selections for the 10 academic mentors. Mentors will be expected to attend several days of intensive training in late August. They will receive a stipend of $1,000 for the academic year.
As leader of the program next year, Senior Associate Dean of Students and Director of Residential Life Charri Boykin-East hopes that the additional support will be helpful for first-year students. "We hope by informing them [first-year students] early and often about academic support systems that are available to them, they will become more confident and successful students," she said.
Several current first-year students commented that the new Peer Mentoring Program would indeed help students adjust to the first year of college. Samantha Ellingson '09 noted that the first-hand knowledge of the academic process and the support services available would indelibly give mentors the upper hand when providing advice to first-year students. "Advisors can't always speak as candidly about classes as students can," she said.
Sophomore Stefanie Reiff '08 agreed, admitting that she indeed was somewhat ignorant of the resources available for first-year students. "As a freshman, I think I often heard about different resources like those but was never quite sure exactly what they did or how to get help from them," she said.
Reiff elaborated, stating that Peer Mentors should help raise awareness among first-years about the various resources that are available to them. "I think that if the Peer Mentors teach first-years not only what these services are but how to adequately use them and supplement them into their work, it will really help them out."