The Quality Enhancement Plan committee is looking for sophomores, juniors and seniors to participate in the peer mentoring initiative with first-year students of the same intended major.

Robert Allen Alexander Jr., head of interdisciplinary studies, director of retention and students engagement and chair of the Quality Enhancement Plan committee, said that the peer mentors will participate in an online discussion of “The Other Wes Moore” by Wes Moore on Blackboard with students from UNIV 101 classes. Students who are chosen to be mentors will receive a $100 stipend, along with a copy of “The Other Wes Moore.”

“The peer mentors will have to check Blackboard periodically to participate in the discussion, but they can do it on their own time,” Alexander said. “That’s the beauty of it. If they want to post at 3 a.m., then they can do it then.”

Alexander said this initiative is part of the Quality Enhancement Plan, a 10-year plan formed in 2006 for accreditation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The plan focuses on student engagement in the first-year experience.

“We’re doing a lot of things in conjunction with UNIV 101 classes to get students engaged with career exploration,” Alexander said. “We understand that some students have already decided what they want to major in, some are completely undecided, and some are in between. We want to make sure that they have the resources to think through that decision in the best way.”

UNIV 101 classes are separated into sections based on intended majors, but all of the classes are required to participate in the “common book experience.”

“They are all assigned the same book to read, and they’re going to discuss it together,” Alexander said.

The common book experience started last year with “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer. This year, students are expected to read “The Other Wes Moore.” The University community chooses a new book each spring.

“We want to connect the freshmen to upper level students who are majoring in the same area,” Alexander said. “The way we’re making the connection is through a discussion of this book. We will work with the mentors and the UNIV 101 instructors to facilitate discussions through Blackboard.”

Alexander said that he hopes once students have finished discussing the book, there will be an opportunity to ask questions about the curriculum and other aspects of a particular major.

“It’s quite a challenge to put all of this together, but we want to get them talking about something common,” Alexander said. “The upper level students can talk to freshmen about student organizations, especially those connected to the major, how they’re planning to apply to grad school, or professional school or the work place.”

Alexander said although faculty members from various departments are brought into the UNIV 101 classes, students can give a valuable perspective towards the major.

“Frankly, students can be more honest about certain things,” Alexander said. “We have professional courtesies that keep us from saying certain things, so it’s a way to give students that insider connection.”

Last year, peer mentors went to UNIV 101 classes to discuss the book, but this year, students will participate in discussions on Blackboard.

“That gets rid of the logistical problems with trying to figure out everyone’s schedule and when they will be able to attend the classes,” Alexander said. “UNIV 101 has gone from being three contact hours to one contact hour, so we just don’t have the luxury to meet in person anymore.”

Students interested in serving as a peer mentor may contact Alexander via e-mail at [email protected] by Friday.

“Last fall, we ended up with about 70 students,” Alexander said. “This year, I’ve probably had about 40 students already contact me.”

Alexander said decisions on the number of peer mentors and specific expectations of participants will be made after he knows how many students are interested.

“We want to try to involve everybody if we can,” Alexander said. “If for some reason I end up with 300 people signed up for this initiative, then we will have to make some decisions as far as who will participate.”