1. To: The Academic Success Center at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown
Project Directors: Mariel Nupp, Chloe Huston, Kathleen Bough, Tessa Smith
Title: Restructuring the First Year Experience Peer Mentoring Program at The University of Pittsburgh at
Johnstown
Overview: The goal is to install a program for provisional first year students that will help educate them
on mental and physical wellbeing as well as how they can improve during their time at the university.
 Problem
o Provisional first-year students often struggle to manage academic and social challenges.
Students must be educated on how to progress through both learning environments
successfully.
o Academic Resource Centers can often be considered understaffed when evaluating the
need for one-on-one academic interactions/interventions for various programs.
o The current peer mentoring program awards peer guides one academic credit, but the
mentors are not necessarily committing enough time and effort to the program to earn the
credit.
o Additionally, the peer mentoring program needs to be adapted to meet current learning
outcomes, rather than the dated outcomes that have been in place since 2006.
 Program Goals
 This program aims to:
o Instill in the provisional students a sense of camaraderie and belonging through
their interactions with each other and with their Peer Guides.
o Provide provisional students with a comfortable and accurate outlet for questions
regarding their college experiences.
o Place students in positive social environments where they can meet other
students.
o Engage students in metacognition.
o Teach students time management skills.
o Teach students study strategies.
o Teach students how to set positive, realistic goals.
o Teach students how to communicate with members of their academic community
effectively and professionally.
o Provide students with an opportunity to get to know faculty and staff.
o Inform students of campus resources.
o Teach students to manage stress in a healthy way.
o Teach students how to navigate university forums, meetings, organizations, etc.
 Outline of Program
o Peer Guide
 Provisional first-year students will be assigned a Peer Guide (Junior status or
older) who has the same major or similar field of study and will serve as a
resource for goal-setting, time management, and study strategies. The Peer Guide
will meet with the student one-on-one once a week throughout the semester and
will have enough background to provide academic advice or to find answers for

2. students. The pair will work collaboratively to set and achieve goals, attend
programs and events, and work through academic difficulties.
 Peer Guides will host weekly workshops; Provisional first-year students must
attend at least two of the workshops. Each workshop topic will be presented
twice in order to provide students with a higher opportunity to attend one of each
type of workshop. Each Peer Guide is required to host one workshop per
semester and several Peer Guides will work together to run their workshop.
 Workshops include:
o Using Apps for Time Management, Studying, and Goal Setting
 Peer Guides of Junior status or older will present and
demonstrate the goal setting and time management
technology, working one-on-one with students to
reinforce what they will learn.
o Professor Meet & Greet
 Professors of General Education courses will
meet & greet with first-year students to discuss
expectations, study skills, and other aspects of
college expectations. Students will be educated
on their professors’ expectations and time-
management skills prior to fully engaging in
their core classes.
o De-Stress Workshop (Part One)
 Physical Health and Wellness Center Resources
o De-Stress Workshop (Part Two)-Finals Week
 Mental/Emotional Health-Stress Relief Practices
o The Aqua Massage is a novelty we want to
incorporate,which the school has brought in
multiple times in the last three years. It is
incredibly popular with the student body, so we
believe that the event would bring in many first
year students if advertised well. This workshop
would be held the week before finals week in the
fall term. Peer Guides would be required to
attend the event and would be there to mingle
with the first-year students and talk them
through any problems they may be having while
preparing for their final exams. Because the
Peer Guides would be tutors, work studies,
executive board club members, etc. they are
students who will be able to offer beneficial
advice as the first-year students experience

3. finals week for the first time. Even though
educational workshops are important, it is
equally important to show the first-year students
that there are ways for them to maintain personal
wellness.
o Professionalism and Preparedness
 Productive and appropriate interactions with
professionals
 How to prepare for advising meetings, academic
counseling, career fairs, scholarly applications, etc.
Budget and Personnel:
 Using Apps for Goal Setting and Time Management
o This workshop requires no personnel compensation.
o 15-20 Peer Guides of Junior status or older.
o A classroom facility and university audio/visual equipment will be used, both of which
are free of charge to student groups.
o We will provide a light continental breakfast through Sodexo Catering. Approximately
50 students are expected to attend, but we will order for 25.
 “The Continental” @ $8.10/person (25) = $202.50
* An assortment of pastries including fat-free muffins, breakfast breads, fresh
fruit, and yogurt. Includes coffee (regular and decaf), hot tea, water, and
assorted juices.
 De-Stress Workshop
o This workshop requires no personnel compensation.
o The Peer Guide program will reserve a meeting room in the Living Learning Center or
the Cambria Room; set-up and reservation are both free of charge.
o 24-hour rental of Aqua Massages costs $600, including professional set-up and
management.
 Professor Panel
o This workshop requires no personnel compensation.
o 5-7 General Education Professors (Volunteer basis)
o The Peer Guide program will reserve a meeting room in the Living Learning Center; set-
up and reservation are both free of charge.
o We will provide coffee and light refreshments, also through Sodexo Catering.
Approximately 30 people (including professors) are expected.
 “Jazzman’s Coffee Break” @ $4.85/person (25) = $121.25
*Jazzman’s Brand regular and decaf coffee, gourmet teas, and muffins or
cookies.
 The total cost of this semester-long program is estimated to cost about $350.00
Evaluation
The program is effective in engaging provisionally admitted first-year students in positive
academic and social awareness activities.

4. Peer Guides serve as liaisons between student and professional communities who have a first-
hand, timely perspective on how to manage college.
Peer Guides can alleviate some of the demand for weekly meetings with academic
counselors; small academic resource centers struggle to advise varying divisions of large
cohorts of students who need extra help, and the Peer Guides can learn effective interpersonal
and instructional skills by conferencing with other students who need guidance.
According to Fink’s theory, students learn best when they are stimulating both affective and
cognitive domains, so a program where peer mentors aid new students in mastering skills in
both domains will increase the meaningfulness of students’ learning while also making
relevant connections between real life and academic content. In her article, “Stress and the
First-Year Student: An Advisor's Role during Tough Times,” Ph. D. and Certified
Health Education Specialist Shelley Hamill insists, “Finding balance among those everyday
task requirements and life demands, and actually having some personal fun time is essential
for first-year success. Balance does not necessarily mean equal time, but it does mean
acknowledging that there needs to be time to release and recharge” (1). Weekly meetings and
workshops incorporate fun and interesting skills that will help students be successful by
fostering social interactions between students, considering relevant resources and topics, and
exploring non-traditional means of learning. Additionally, workshops will be relaxed and
inviting; food, energetic speakers, and previously established Peer Guide-student
relationships will be present.
The workshops are open to all first-year students, which encourages positive social
interactions among students in similar situations.
Wirth’s and Perkins’ article, “Learning to Learn” discusses a theory of reasoning that says
that students learn best when they are curious and motivated; Peer Guides incorporate
significant resources in the workshops that will interest 21st
-Century students while also
providing them with vital study skills and stress relief practices to keep them focused and
intentional.
The program aims to make students more self-directed. If Peer Guides, academic counselors,
and instructors work together to bring relevance to education, struggling students can make
meaningful connections and become more interested and invested in learning. The program is
meant to maximize productivity, success, and contentment in the college experience while
developing students’ sense of belonging in the university.
Primary Supporting Theories
o Fink’s Categories of Significant Learning Elements of Reading
o Michael Scriven & Richard Paul-Defining Critical Thinking
o Bloom’s Taxonomy