PASS

Faculty Partnership

Thank you for your interest in implementing Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) in your course! We wanted to share a few ways faculty members can support the PASS Program and PASS Leaders in their courses.

Class Attendance: PASS Leaders will have the opportunity to attend class each time it meets to stay up to date with class material to best support students in their study sessions. PASS Leader supervisors may also attend some class sessions with the PASS Leader to help evaluate the Leader in their PASS sessions. PASS Leaders’ level of involvement during class time will be at faculty members’ discretion and will be determined with the PASS Leader.

Roster & Program Evaluation: We ask that faculty members make their current student roster for their PASS section available to PASS supervisors, along with exam and/or major project grades, as a means of determining whether students attending PASS sessions are performing at a higher level than those not attending. For final evaluation purposes, we will also request final course grades at the end of the term from either faculty members or the Office of the Registrar. 

  • Sharing student information for the PASS Program is within compliance of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) for the purposes of improving instruction. Please see this resource for additional information. 
  • Faculty members will not be given the names of students who attend PASS sessions to preserve students’ anonymity in seeking this support, which is one of the tenets of the PASS model. However, we can provide anonymous feedback from PASS participants at your request. 

Promoting PASS: PASS Leaders may occasionally be given a few minutes at the beginning or end of class to make announcements about PASS sessions. We also encourage faculty members to provide Canvas access to PASS Leaders to share study session updates and access course assignments.

Collaboration with PASS Leaders: PASS Leaders and faculty members are encouraged to meet on a regular basis during the faculty member’s office/student hours, by appointment, or at another mutually agreeable time. At the beginning of the semester, PASS Leaders and faculty should meet so that the PASS leader can ask questions and fill out the to best prepare for the semester.

Support & Feedback: PASS supervisors are happy to support faculty members with implementing PASS and assist with any questions or concerns they have in the process. As well, the Academic Success Center values faculty members’ perspectives on the PASS Program and will periodically request feedback throughout the semester to continually improve the program.

Syllabus Statement

If your course offers PASS-support, please copy the following statement into your syllabus:

This course offers Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS), a voluntary program intended to support students in their academic pursuits. Under the guidance of a designated PASS Leader, students come together to learn collaboratively as they discuss challenging concepts, develop study strategies, and review prior to exams. During weekly sessions, our PASS Leader will utilize interactive activities to reinforce content taught in class. Students who regularly attend PASS sessions typically perform better in class.