The Texas A&M University College of Engineering is recruiting 90 peer mentors to support the college’s first-year experience course - CLEN 181: Engineering Learning Community & Student Success Seminar.
Peer Mentors and CLEN 181
Beginning fall 2020, the college added a peer mentor component to our CLEN 181: Engineering Learning Community & Student Success Seminar. The purpose of the seminar is to welcome first- year engineering students to Texas A&M University and assist with their transition and integration into the college. Throughout the seminar, peer mentors play an important role in forming engineering community, fostering a supportive learning environment, and introducing first-year engineering students to opportunities and resources that are available to them during their undergraduate career at Texas A&M University.
Benefits for Peer Mentors
- Great opportunity to share your knowledge and support students in engineering
- Develop your communication skills and gain valuable leadership experience
- Make a difference in the first-year experience of 2,500 new engineering students
- Receive compensation of $500 for the semester you serve as a peer mentor. This will be paid as a stipend through your student financial aid portal in November 2021.
Desired Characteristics for Peer Mentors
We are seeking engineering students who are:
- Interested in serving as a role model and peer mentor to advance the success of first-year students in engineering
- Willing to form engineering community and foster an inclusive and supportive learning environment.
- Capable of relating to and developing classroom rapport with a diverse group of first-year engineering students
- Knowledgeable about university/college opportunities and resources that would be useful to first-year students in engineering
Peer Mentor Responsibilities
In accordance with standards established by the university’s Office for Student Success (OSS), CLEN 181 peer mentors are responsible for the following:
- Demonstrate the Aggie Core Values (Respect, Excellence, Leadership, Loyalty, Integrity, and Selfless-Service) and uphold the Aggie Honor Code
- Develop rapport and a safe relationship with new students
- Assist individual students as needed, including following up with students who miss class and making referrals to appropriate resources for issues that are beyond your scope of expertise
- Meet 1-1 with each student in your section at least once in the semester
- Meet weekly with your Instructor to coordinate and plan course components
- Collaborate with your Instructor to create a learning contract related to your experience that provides you with developmental opportunities within the classroom and fulfills your goals as a peer mentor
- Commit to serving as a Peer Mentor for fall 2021 in a 0-credit hour transition to college course. Sections are composed of no more than 25 students and meet weekly for 50 minutes. Section times will be assigned based on your availability once you have registered for the fall semester.
- Complete required Hullabaloo U training coordinated by the Office for Student Success.
- Online training modules will be released in May and must be complete by the 1st class day of Fall 2021.
- Peer mentors will work through the online modules at their own pace; training should take approximately two hours for returning Peer Mentors and four-five hours for new Peer Mentors.
- For information on future training, refer to the OSS website.
- Attend CLEN 181 Peer Mentor training led by the College of Engineering on August 27 (F) from 1-3 p.m. We will host the training session online. In addition, we plan to reserve a meeting room for Peer Mentors who prefer to attend the training session in person.
- Commit to working 3-4 hours per week in the fall 2021
- Receive compensation of $500 for the semester you serve as a Peer Mentor. This will be paid as a stipend through your student financial aid portal in November 2021
Minimum Requirements
Peer Mentors for CLEN 181 must meet the following minimum requirements:
- A current engineering student who has completed at least 24 credit hours by the end of the Spring 2021 semester at Texas A&M (in College Station, McAllen, Galveston) or through the Texas A&M Engineering Academy at Blinn College-Bryan
- Must be enrolled at the College of Engineering for fall 2021 semester
- Undergraduate/graduate degree will not be completed prior to December 2021
- Be in good academic standing, with a minimum 2.5 cumulative GPA, and good disciplinary standing
- Completion of required training workshops (for training dates, see Peer Mentor Responsibilities)
The application cycle, to be considered as a peer mentor for the college’s First-Year Experience Course (CLEN 181) for fall 2021, is now closed.
Thank you for considering this opportunity to play an important role in the success of our first-year engineering students. For additional information or questions, please contact Ms. Brynn Ruiz at brynnruiz@tamu.edu.
Coordination Team for Our First-Year Experience Course
Brynn A. Ruiz - Academic Advisor III, General Engineering (lead for Peer Mentor questions)
Elissa Morris - Senior Lecturer, First-Year Engineering Program (lead for Instructor questions)
Bonnie Bustos-Rios - Director, Engineering Academic Operations
Andrea M. Ogilvie - Assistant Dean, Student Success