Students in their first and second year on campus frequently are enrolled in several courses taught in large lecture format. It is quite possible in that setting for students to not fully engage in their learning.  This can happen in spite of the best efforts by lecturer and the teaching assistants.  Peer mentoring is aimed at making the environment more personal for the students and allow the students to open up about their own formative thinking on what they are being taught to someone who is accessible, friendly and not at all intimidating, who wants to provide helpful feedback.

The idea of peer mentoring is not new.  It is practiced in isolated pockets on campus and done in a variety of different ways varying with the discipline, the scheduling of the course, and a variety of other factors as well.  Heretofore it has been driven mainly by individual instructor initiative.   This project aims to spread the use of peer mentors in a more systematic fashion, encouraging it to occur in courses where students and mentors alike would benefit from it, but where it is unlikely to happen on its own accord.