PASS
Coming to college for the first time can be both exciting and worrying. You’re probably wondering how you’ll make friends, what’s involved with your course, how you’re going to write assignments and organise your time effectively. PASS is designed to help you experience everything life at TUS has to offer from navigating the campus to supports available, from study tips to insight into your chosen course and getting the most out of your time here.
Second year students from your programme have been trained to help you to support each other and learn to solve your problems in weekly group sessions called PASS. If PASS is available, it will appear on your timetable.
Make sure you enrol on the PASS Moodle page for your programme to get the most from sessions with your Leaders.
PASS is intended to help first year students:
- adjust quickly to third level;
- acquire a clear view of course direction and expectations;
- develop their independent learning and study skills to meet the requirements of higher education;
- enhance their understanding of the subject matter of their programme through collaborative group discussion;
- prepare better for assessed work and examinations.
PASS is NOT:
- teaching by students.
- targeted at weak or problem students – all participants should benefit.
- a means of reducing lecturer-student contact class time.
- an environment for social chatting.
Background to PASS
PASS has been running at TUS since 2009. It is based on the Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) programme developed by Bournemouth University (BU) in the UK. BU has had its PAL project in place since 2001, with the aim of:
- reducing attrition on historically difficult courses,
- improving student grades on these course, and
- increasing graduation rates.
PASS/PAL evolved from Supplemental Instruction (SI), a programme developed at the University of Missouri Kansas City in 1973 (to address attrition rates).
PASS initially commenced as a collaborative project between GMIT and AIT. AIT extended the project for a number of years with funding from the dormant accounts initiative. The programme now resides within the Student Resource Centre (as an Access initiative).
For further information contact:
The PASS Programme Team
Tel: +353 (0)90 644 2571
Benefits of PASS
PASS offers benefits to students and staff at all levels – to the school, the programme, first year students and PASS Leaders.
Benefits for First Year Students:
Peer Assisted Student Support is intended to provide a safe, friendly and supportive environment to help first year students:
- adjust quickly to the demands of third level education
- acquire a clear view of course direction and expectations
- develop their independent learning and study skills to meet the requirements of higher education
- enhance their understanding of the subject matter of their programme through collaborative group discussion
- prepare better for assessed work and examinations
- feel more at home among their peers
- increase their confidence
Benefits for PASS Leaders:
By becoming a PASS Leader, you can:
- development of their personal and professional skills such as leadership, team working, organising, time management, listening, interpersonal communication, facilitation and presentation skills;
- increased confidence;
- provides valuable experience to enhance their CVs;
- provide an opportunity to gain credits or accreditation for their activities.
Benefits to Lecturers:
As a lecturer, you will see a number of benefits from Peer Assisted Student Support, including:
- A reduction in the number of minor requests and queries from first year students, as PASS Leaders can act as a first point of contact for ‘specificinformation/queries’ on settling into college life.
- Helps students to become better prepared for their lectures or/and tutorials.
- Helps students to better manage their workload and keep up with course work and assignments distributed by the lecturer during the term.
- Help students learn more effectively in a peer based group.
- Leaders give regular feedback to the ‘PASS Programme Co-ordinator’ which feeds back to their school management and lecturers.
Benefits to Faculty:
Faculties and Departments that introduce Peer Assisted Student Support to programmes can expect to reap the following benefits:
- PASS creates links between classes across the programme, which can help develop a more cohesive culture in your school/department.
- The level of student involvement in – and ownership of – learning is increased.
- Support can be targeted at the specific areas of a programme(s) that students find particularly challenging with an aim to improve student understanding.
- PASS Leaders provide additional feedback for the Programme Boards.
- Valuable additional student support which can be used to present the School or Department positively during institutional audits, subject reviews or marketing initiatives.
- In the student PASS Leaders, the programme gains committed students who can help promote the course and even meet with internal or external reviewers.
Becoming a PASS Leader
Students from first year can apply to become PASS leaders from 1st March 2024.
The application process is now fully online; to apply to become a PASS Leader read the information below and click on the link at the bottom of the page.
The application process closes in May.
We are looking for PASS Leaders who will:
- Volunteer roughly 2.5 hours per week during semester one to plan, facilitate and review PASS sessions.
- Attend two days of mandatory training.
- Plan and review one PASS session each week – 8 weeks in total.
- Encourage students to learn by sharing ideas and supporting each other.
- Facilitate small group discussions and feedback.
- Keep in touch with your group between PASS sessions via email, Moodle, MS Teams or other means.
- Be enthusiastic, supportive, approachable, and able to pass on advice based upon their own experience of first year.
PASS Leadership module
- The aim of this module is to develop students’ leadership, communication and professional development skills through the facilitation of weekly PASS sessions with first year programme groups.
- Once students have completed the two-day training, they receive a digital badge and officially become PASS Leaders.
- During semester one, PASS Leaders compile a journal of their training, practice and reflection on PASS sessions.
- During semester two, PASS Leaders complete a 1,000-word essay and submit their completed journal.
- At the end of the academic year, Leaders who submit their journal are awarded 5 credits for the PASS Leadership module.
PASS Leader Benefits:
The benefits to PASS leaders include
- Development of personal and professional skills such as leadership, team working, organising, time management, listening, interpersonal communication, facilitation and presentation skills;
- Increased confidence in speaking;
- Provides valuable experience to enhance CVs;
- Provides an opportunity to receive a digital badge and gain credits for activities.
Garda Vetting
- From July 2019 Garda Vetting is no longer required to become a PASS Leader at TUS.
Please note:
- Before you apply for the programme you should ensure that you are available for two days of training on 4th and 5th September 2024.
- Complete the application form below.
- Complete activities on Moodle before training (4-5 hours to be completed during the summer months).
- You must pass all first year subjects.
- All communication will be to your TUS email address. It is every students’ responsibility to check their college email for notices or communication.