Team Profile: PASS

Who works in the PASS team?

• Renée Boucher – PASS Program Coordinator
• Karen Douglas  – PASS Program Assistant Coordinator
• James Foster – PASS Program Administrative Officer
• Hanan Abu-Saif – PASSOnline Project Officer
• Lenny Patel – PASS Project Assistant

What does the PASS team do?

PASS (Peer Assisted Study Sessions) is a student-centred learning program delivered for students by students. The team's role is to recruit, train, develop and support 100+ student casuals to facilitate group learning sessions for their peers.

PASS is a well-established and internationally successful program delivering collaborative, peer-led study sessions. PASS sessions are voluntary, weekly, one-hour sessions that students attend in addition to regular lectures and tutorials. In an informal group environment, students work together to review unit content and develop study skills through active learning.

Where is the PASS team located?

Our main offices are in Building V on Kingswood campus. However, we also have hot offices for our facilitators on other campuses. Our facilitators work across six campuses and online. Look out for "PASS in progress" signs on classroom doors.

Who does the PASS team work with?

The success of the PASS programs depends on close collaboration and support from various areas across the University. This includes the Executive, academics and professional staff within the Schools, students employed as facilitators, and students who participate in the program. 

The PASS team also works closely with other peer and student employment programs across Student Success and Participation as well as other University departments such as Careers, IT, Blended Learning and the Office of Quality and Performance.

We are also actively involved in the national and international PASS community through which we share ideas and approaches to ensure the PASS program remains relevant and can evolve to meet changing student needs.

What would be a good example of the work that you are involved in?

PASS focuses on supporting core undergraduate first-year units, those with high fail rates and units that students perceive to be difficult. Around 45 units are supported per teaching session with PASS sessions running in all nine Schools.

In 2016, PASS ran 2,766 weekly sessions attended by 4,106 students, totalling 22,630 contact hours. In Spring 2016, regular PASS attendees achieved 14.2 grade points higher than their non-attending peers.

What challenges does the team face?

Changes to student study modes and patterns have impacted on the traditional PASS delivery method. The most popular PASS sessions used to be scheduled before or after lectures when the majority of students were on campus. With the rise in online lectures, eLearning weeks and reduced time on campus, it can be difficult to get groups of students together at a scheduled time for a voluntary PASS session.

The PASS team has responded to this challenge by offering flexible delivery of PASS including PASSOnline sessions in the evenings and longer intensive on-campus sessions during non-teaching weeks or on weekends.

What is the team focusing on in the next 12 months?

In 2017, Western Sydney University PASS celebrates its 10-year anniversary. We aim to celebrate not only how far we have come but also the continuation of our work to improve learning outcomes for students. This includes the further development of student facilitator and attendee graduate attributes of confidence, employability, communication and social interaction skills while increasing our collaboration with academic staff and further enhancing student engagement in PASS.