Peer Mentoring

Upon acceptance to the USP, each incoming student is assigned to a peer mentor. Peer mentors are senior USP students, usually from the same faculty, who help first-year students figure out their way around university by providing advice, especially regarding academic and curriculum matters.

Read more about USP Mentorship Programme (UMP) in this USP Highlights article.

Objectives

More specifically, the USP Mentorship Programme (UMP) seeks to:

1. assist Year 1 undergraduates in the transition to university life in the USP by
   1. matching existing information needs with a wealth of student experience, and
   2. helping freshmen familiarize themselves with USP academic life and requirements.
2. facilitate student access to academic information and resources. With the help of peer mentors, first-years should be better–placed to seek guidance with regard to academic matters from a variety of sources. These sources include: seniors in the USP community, faculty advisors, other members of faculty (both in USP and in the home faculties), the USP administrative staff, as well as information available in print and online. Rather than spoonfeeding the information to students, peer mentors seek to help students help themselves, for example by finding or validating information on their own time.
3. foster a sense of community through peer guidance and by linking up incoming first-years to the current USP community.

The Role of a Peer Mentor

Peer mentors are different from Orientation Group Leaders (OGLs) in that every freshman has a peer mentor (even if he/she did not attend orientation); peer mentors will usually be from the same faculty as the freshman, so they can give faculty-specific advice; and most peer mentors are in Years 3 or 4 (whereas OGLs are Years 2 or 3).

Each peer mentor is in charge of a few first-year students, forming a peer group (the size of which varies). The peer mentor will meet his/her peer group several times during the course of their first year. During these structured peer mentorship sessions, peer mentors will cover a list of topics, including but not limited to:

• Course registrations and tutorial balloting
• USP- and Faculty-specific academic requirements
• International Programmes: Cultural Immersion, Student Exchange Programme, NOC
• ISMs, UROPs
• Internships, career services, CV matters

First-years can also contact their peer mentor outside of these structured sessions to obtain advice on a more adhoc basis. Peer mentors, as senior USP students who are from the same faculty (and often the same major) as their mentees, are well positioned to address many of the common questions that USP freshmen have, such as:

• How do I plan my timetable? Do I have to start planning now which courses I have to take?
• How many courses should I take each semester? Are there courses I should take or avoid in my first semester?
• What is ModReg? How do I select my courses?
• How many courses do I need to complete for graduation?
• What are Unrestricted Electives (UEs)? How many UEs do I have?
• Where can I find information on my lecture venues?
• What are Independent Study Courses (ISCs)? When should I start planning to do them?
• How do I plan a Student Exchange Programme (SEP)? What about Cultural Immersion or NUS Overseas College (NOC)?
• What happens if I want to do a double major? Can I graduate on time?
• What are USP classes like?
• What is university life like? Where do I fit in?

What Peer Mentors Don’t Do

• Mentors do not recommend courses per se. Any hints and tips on course choices are made in the capacity of a USP senior, not a mentor.
• Mentors are not personal tutors. As USP seniors, peer mentors sometimes choose to provide their first-year students with more specific individual coaching on academic matters. However, such help is beyond the expected scope of a mentor. The core of the UMP consists of a set of structured group sessions. Peer groups are valuable not just because of the senior-to-junior interaction, but also because of the interaction that occurs among first-years.

Who Can Be A Peer Mentor?

Peer mentors should:

1. Have significant experience both inside and outside of the classroom.
2. Be in good academic standing.
3. Demonstrate a good understanding of his or her role as a student advisor.
4. Demonstrate excellent inter-personal communication skills.