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Faculty of Humanities Teaching & Learning Office

Peer Support

Peer Support in Humanities

There is strong evidence that Peer Support has a positive influence on students' experience of their time at University, both academically and socially.

Peer Support covers two areas: Peer Mentoring and Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS)

The University of Manchester is currently the National Benchmark Institution for PASS.  Currently there are 26 Peer Mentoring schemes and 9 PASS schemes in the Faculty of Humanities.

Aims and objectives of Peer Support

  • To enhance the quality, quantity and diversity of student learning within a discipline;
  • To involve our students as partners in their own learning experience, developing and supporting the independent learner;
  • To provide further opportunity for the development of intellectual and professional competencies;
  • To provide students with a supportive environment to assist the transition to higher education.

Explanations of how PASS & Peer Mentoring work can be found on the University's Students as Partners website, along with further information about starting schemes, planning events, applications for funding for Peer Support projects and descriptions of each scheme.

Structure of Peer Support in the Faculty of Humanities

At School level, Staff Coordinators from the subject area of a scheme will provide support to Mentors, PASS Leaders and Student Coordinators. The recruitment of Peer Mentors and PASS Leaders takes place at the Discipline level.
Some students involved in Peer Support take a very active role in coordinating their scheme and these students may then take on the role of Student Coordinator.

Mentors and PASS Leaders are an important supplementary point of contact for students within a discipline and help new students to adjust to University life. PASS leaders help to develop students' study skills and learning strategies, both in first year PASS schemes, and higher year PASS.

At Faculty level, Lisa McAleese, Senior Taught Programmes Administrator, works closely with the Sabbatical Interns, who provide ongoing support to both Staff and Student Coordinators.  Training for PASS Leaders and Mentors is provided by the Students as Partners programme.

At University level, the Teaching, Learning and Support Office (TLSO) has responsibility for oversight of strategic development and policy in relation to Peer Support.  The TLSO identifies good practice from within and outside the University (both nationally and internationally) and coordinates dissemination within the University and externally.  The Students as Partners (SaP) programme is part of the TLSO and provides expertise and consultancy to the Faculty in relation to Peer Support schemes.  SaP trains Peer Support Student Coordinators and facilitates both Staff and Student Coordinator Networks.

Peer Support Programmes in the Faculty

PASS Schemes are currently running in:

  • School of Arts, Histories and Cultures: Music, Religions and Theology
  • School of Environment and Development: Geography
  • School of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures: Arabic (Middle Eastern Studies); Contemporary Middle East (Middle Eastern Studies); Russian
  • School of Social Sciences: Introductory Maths (BA Econ); Econometrics; (BEconSc); Joint scheme with Combined Studies and Psychology

Peer Mentoring Schemes are currently running in:

  • Manchester Business School: Accounting; Business and Information Systems; International Business; Finance and Economics; Management
  • School of Arts, Histories and Cultures: Archaeology; Art History; Classics & Ancient History; Drama; English & American Studies; History; Music; Religions and Theology
  • School of Education: Language, Literacy and Communication; Applied Community and Youth Work
  • School of Environment and Development: Geography (Dissertation Mentoring)
  • School of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures: East Asian Studies; German; Italian; Linguistics and English Language; Spanish
  • School of Law: across all programmes
  • School of Social Science: BA Econ; BEconSc; Politics and International Relations; Philosophy; PPE; Social Anthropology; Sociology
  • Combined Studies

Contacts

Student Sabbatical Intern for SAHC, SED, SoSS and MBS

Eleanor Darley
Telephone: 0161 275 2349 (x52349)
Email: sabbatical.humanities-a@manchester.ac.uk

Student Sabbatical Intern Combined Studies, Education, Law and LLC

Rebecca Rawcliffe
Telephone: 0161 275 2546 (x52546)
Email: sabbatical.humanities-b@manchester.ac.uk

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