Enhancing the first-year experience is an important focus in many universities. However, a multitude of pressures on academics does not make it easy to convince them to invest more time in changing their teaching practices, or in considering curricular changes.

A strategic decision to invest in developing peer learning strategies such as PASS, however, does not demand much of the time of academics, but do help students to develop valuable study skills,  and enhance their sense of engagement with other students and the university at large. In other words, peer learning strategies are not only time and cost effective, but also yield high benefits for students’ first-year experience and provide important benefits for their institutions.

Jacques will provide an overview of the developments of peer learning opportunities at the University of Otago and consider these in a wider context of complexities in enhancing the first-year experience. He will also report on findings from research conducted in the Otago PASS programme. He will then invite the audience to discuss some of the organizational issues in developing peer learning programmes.