Peer mentoring
The Global Hoosier Peer Mentors will serve a pilot cohort of twenty-five international students. The Peer Mentors will rotate presence throughout both semesters in the “Navigating the University Classroom with Integrity” and “Living the Hoosier Experience” courses in addition to providing extra-curricular support for their international students. Within the cohort, the international students will be divided into groups of five and be paired with a Peer Mentor, providing them a smaller group setting to personally connect with their Peer Mentor and fellow students.
Peer Mentors will be recruited from existing leadership positions such as Orientation Leaders, Resident Assistants, Welcome Week Assistants, Greek Life, IU Student Association, and posted throughout Residence Halls and through the Hoosier Connection Newsletter sent out to all student organizations. Preference will be given to students with good representation of campus involvement, international experience, quality GPA, and Hoosier spirit. The selection team will be comprised of two representatives each from OSE, FYE, and OIS.
Peer Mentors will commit a total of forty-five hours per semester in their positions. Time will be divided between three sessions of class rotations, monthly socials, one-on-ones with students twice a semester, and weekly check-ins with the instructor and fellow Peer Mentors. In addition, they will commit three weekends for retreats: the first at the end of the Spring semester prior to becoming a Peer Mentor, a refresher at the beginning of Fall semester as their positions begin, and a final refresher at the beginning of Spring semester as they move into their final semester of work. Peer Mentors will be held accountable by the Program Coordinator. Weekly page-long reflections on mentee progress, in-class participation, group dynamics, and personal successes and struggles will be turned into the Program Coordinator. Reflections will remain confidential and used by the Program Coordinator only with the Peer Mentor’s permission. Weekly review of the reflections will be critical to ensure Peer Mentor/instructor cooperation. The Program Coordinator will be available for weekly one-on-ones with the Peer Mentors as needed. Peer Mentors will be paid a stipend of $500 a semester, totaling $5,000 over the year between the five Peer Mentors.
Training will take place during the three retreats and in the weekly check-ins throughout the semester. The goals of training will be insuring cross-cultural competency, knowledge of campus resources, group facilitation skills especially surrounding critical and creative thinking techniques, and icebreakers. Each Peer Mentor will receive a binder of resources for reference throughout the school year that covers the material taught at the retreats. Additionally, the program coordinator will organize monthly seminars focused around topics in each course as professional development for the Peer Mentors.
Mentor-Mentee matching will occur over the summer through an application process of interested international students. Applications will include a brief personal statement of interest, the student’s major, hobbies and interests, and country of origin. Application review will be holistic, with an emphasis on level of student interest, ensuring diversity of the cohort. Following selection of the cohort, matching will occur based on shared interests, majors, and country preference, if given.
Following each semester, Peer Mentors, mentees, instructors, and the Program Coordinator will evaluate the success of the program. Evaluations will revisit the desired learning outcomes of each course in addition to inquiring about the quality of relationships built, comfort with Peer Mentor, overall rating of the program, and whether or not they would recommend the program to a friend.
Peer Mentors will be recruited from existing leadership positions such as Orientation Leaders, Resident Assistants, Welcome Week Assistants, Greek Life, IU Student Association, and posted throughout Residence Halls and through the Hoosier Connection Newsletter sent out to all student organizations. Preference will be given to students with good representation of campus involvement, international experience, quality GPA, and Hoosier spirit. The selection team will be comprised of two representatives each from OSE, FYE, and OIS.
Peer Mentors will commit a total of forty-five hours per semester in their positions. Time will be divided between three sessions of class rotations, monthly socials, one-on-ones with students twice a semester, and weekly check-ins with the instructor and fellow Peer Mentors. In addition, they will commit three weekends for retreats: the first at the end of the Spring semester prior to becoming a Peer Mentor, a refresher at the beginning of Fall semester as their positions begin, and a final refresher at the beginning of Spring semester as they move into their final semester of work. Peer Mentors will be held accountable by the Program Coordinator. Weekly page-long reflections on mentee progress, in-class participation, group dynamics, and personal successes and struggles will be turned into the Program Coordinator. Reflections will remain confidential and used by the Program Coordinator only with the Peer Mentor’s permission. Weekly review of the reflections will be critical to ensure Peer Mentor/instructor cooperation. The Program Coordinator will be available for weekly one-on-ones with the Peer Mentors as needed. Peer Mentors will be paid a stipend of $500 a semester, totaling $5,000 over the year between the five Peer Mentors.
Training will take place during the three retreats and in the weekly check-ins throughout the semester. The goals of training will be insuring cross-cultural competency, knowledge of campus resources, group facilitation skills especially surrounding critical and creative thinking techniques, and icebreakers. Each Peer Mentor will receive a binder of resources for reference throughout the school year that covers the material taught at the retreats. Additionally, the program coordinator will organize monthly seminars focused around topics in each course as professional development for the Peer Mentors.
Mentor-Mentee matching will occur over the summer through an application process of interested international students. Applications will include a brief personal statement of interest, the student’s major, hobbies and interests, and country of origin. Application review will be holistic, with an emphasis on level of student interest, ensuring diversity of the cohort. Following selection of the cohort, matching will occur based on shared interests, majors, and country preference, if given.
Following each semester, Peer Mentors, mentees, instructors, and the Program Coordinator will evaluate the success of the program. Evaluations will revisit the desired learning outcomes of each course in addition to inquiring about the quality of relationships built, comfort with Peer Mentor, overall rating of the program, and whether or not they would recommend the program to a friend.